Online wine boutique Magnum + Queens made the move to bricks and mortar last year, launching its permanent South Melbourne store in June. Now, more expansion is on the cards, with the space set to welcome its own wine bar from next month. With its diverse range of over 1000 wines and lineup of craft beers, ciders, spirits and mixers, the Coventry Street shop has become a firm favourite for customers in the market for a great take-home drop. And come March 1, it'll also be a spot where you can pull up a seat and unwind over a few of co-founder Virginia Selleck's expert booze picks, matched to classic drinking snacks. Here, a weekly-changing drink-in offering will be kicking things off with the likes of the Bertrand Bespoke rosé from Heathcote, a Basket Ranges Wines pét-nat and the 2015 Jean Bourdy Côtes du Jura rouge. A Coravin set-up allows for a few more interesting special releases to be enjoyed without opening the bottles, too. The matching snack situation is looking mighty fine, with bites like spiced almonds, tinned sardines or anchovies served with crostini and pickled onion, French cheese and maybe some crusty bread alongside a smoky walnut and eggplant dip. The Magnum + Queens wine bar will launch in conjunction with its new Queens Tasting Table, weekly in-store wine tastings from 12–2pm every Saturday. Find the Magnum + Queens Wine store and wine bar at 274–276 Coventry Street, South Melbourne from March 1. Images: Kirsten Dickie.
Bars March is a month-long charity campaign letting you drink for a good cause. And that cause? Animals. Yep, you can spend March hopping around to different bars and smashing a tasty cocktail to help raise money for the Animal Welfare League. What's possibly even more exciting, is that the most of the bars involved are dog-friendly — so your pooch can come along, too. It's a win, win. Running for almost a decade in Sydney, the charity month has this year expanded interstate — which means animal-loving Melburnians can get on board, too. To get involved, you just need to show up to one of participating bars and purchase a Bars March charity cocktail, and a portion of the profits will go to the aforementioned charity. Some of the bars involved in Melbourne include dog-friendly whisky bar the Tipsy Cow and CBD bars Loch and Key, Golden Monkey and Captain Melville. Up in Sydney, award-winning drinking holes Lobo Plantation and Kittyhawk will be taking part, as will Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel and the East Village in Darlinghurst. [caption id="attachment_663076" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Tipsy Cow[/caption] A heap of venues will be hosting events, too, with Crown Street's new Italian restaurant Caffe Bartolo selling $10 charity brunch cocktails from March 1–3 and the Erko is throwing a dog-friendly Pints 4 Paws party on Saturday, March 2. Over the nine years that Bars March has been running, it has raised over $80,000 for the Animal Welfare League, which cares for and re-homes surrendered, neglected and abandoned animals across NSW. Bars March is a boozy charity initiative raising money for the Animal Welfare League. It runs from March 1–31 and you can check out the full list of participating venues and events at barsmarch.com and the Bars March Facebook page. Top image: Caffe Bartolo by Kitti Gould.
The Dax Centre is doing very important work. It's the leading not-for-profit gallery and education centre for those who have experienced mental illness or trauma. Providing a place to view over 15,000 pieces of artwork made by those with mental illness, the Dax Centre is well worth a visit to see the ins and outs of living with mental illness in Australia. On January 9 this important little organisation opens its third solo exhibition by Adam Knapper, a seasoned Australian artist with a practice that uses street art and oil painting. The exhibition challenges the artist's understanding of his own history of mental illness. It's a complex provocation and is synonymous with Knapper's ability to use pop art and bright, bold colours in representing the mind. Known for his surrealist oil paintings and stylised designs, Knapper's latest body of work is on show until May 9. Image credit: Adam Knapper, Unravel, 2010, oil on canvas, via the State Trustees Connected Collection.
Unless you're heading to Higher Ground, Holey Moley or court, you probably don't spend much time in the CBD's bottom-end western pocket. Those four blocks between La Trobe, William, Bourke and Spencer streets have largely been subject to construction and big business and, as a result, have less buzz and character than other areas in the CBD. But now, design-savvy locals have the chance to change all that, thanks to a new competition by the Urban Land Institute (ULI). Having described the area as suffering from "a lack of identity, limited on-street activity outside of business hours, little open public space and community amenity", the international research and education think tank has set out to find someone brimming with ideas for its transformation. [caption id="attachment_684763" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The area up for development, supplied by the Urban Land Institute.[/caption] If you're an architect, urban planner or developer under the age of 35, you're invited to put forward your own thoughts on how to improve these lacklustre four blocks, through the 2018 Urban Innovation Ideas Competition. The hunt is on for proposals that would help boost the area's vibrancy, improve safety and transform it into what ULI calls a "24-hour neighbourhood". The point of the competition is to give young people a forum to discuss and visually express what they would like their city to look like. While the winning design won't be heading into development anytime soon, the winner will get the chance to present their idea at the 2019 ULI Asia Pacific Summit in Shanghai and potentially influence the future development of the City of Melbourne. Now in its third year, Urban Innovation Ideas Competition has previously seen entrants reimagine Sydney's George Street (2015) and put forward ideas for revamping the area linking Brisbane's CBD and Fortitude Valley (2016). The 2018 competition is open to both individuals and groups of four. ULI Melbourne Urban Innovation Ideas Competition opens at 9am on Friday, August 24 and closes on September 18. You can enter here. Image: Google Maps.
The April holidays are nearly upon us. And with the Easter long weekend and ANZAC Day landing on consecutive weeks this year, there's no better time to book a trip out of town. Might we suggest you land on Sydney? The city has so much going on this autumn, including highly lauded markets, blockbuster performances, massive new exhibitions and brand new venues to discover, plus all of the Easter treats and ANZAC Day specials in between. Here's our guide on how to make the most of your holidays this season in Sydney. [caption id="attachment_698137" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Grounds of Alexandria.[/caption] HUNT FOR EXCELLENT EASTER TREATS Throughout the month of April, Sydney's best chocolatiers turn out some delectable, hard-to-pass-up Easter treats. These include a larger-than-life Easter egg at The Grounds of Alexandria, which annually constructs a three-metre-tall egg stuffed with over 500 kilograms of chocolate. The 'community cracking' takes place on Easter Sunday — and there are no bookings, pre-orders or payments necessary to participate. There's also a sweets-filled family high tea and a free Easter egg hunt on the Saturday. For some over-the-top treats, head to Gelato Messina for a very indulgent Easter dessert. This year, expect the Hot Cross Bun Egg — that's hot cross bun gelato mixed with toasted hot cross bun pieces and an oozing dulce de leche 'yolk', all with a milk chocolate coating. The Messina concoctions sell out each year, so sign up here to be the first to order. Darlinghurst's Kakawa is across Easter, too, offering more hot cross bun-flavoured chocolates, chocolate-filled eggs and bunny pops. Other sweets to hunt down include the raw vegan choc eggs at Alexandria's Pana Chocolate and the range of luxe Easter treats at Haigh's in the CBD. [caption id="attachment_708768" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Eliza Food and Wine.[/caption] VISIT ONE OF SYDNEY'S NEWEST VENUES While you're in town for a visit, be sure to check out a few of Sydney's newest openings. For a top-notch bar, head to the city's first dedicated mezcal bar, Cantina OK. The 20-person venue can be found hidden down a laneway in the heart of the CBD. But if Sydney's sunny skies are calling you outdoors, it's Chippendale's new rooftop Spritz Bar you should consider. It offers a whole menu of spritzes, along with Sicilian-style bar snacks and Mediterranean vibes. And for a real locals' haunt, make tracks to Newton to sip Scandinavian aquavit cocktails in the courtyard at the Danish-influenced Tandem Bar. For eats, check out RaRa Ramen, Redfern's new izakaya-style joint that's slinging some seriously authentic bowls of ramen, including a regularly sold-out vegan version. Finer fare can be found at Darlinghurst's Eliza Food and Wine, an eatery focused on local produce and brought to you by Michelin-trained chef Jeremy Bentley. And for a bit of both, don't look past the drinks and eats at Pyrmont's new natural wine bar and European-style eatery Bar Clementine — it's slinging funky drops, aperitif-style cocktails and European share plates to boot. [caption id="attachment_664206" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Australian Heritage Hotel.[/caption] GO FOR $5 ON HEADS AT A GAME OF TWO-UP If you're in Sydney over ANZAC Day, it's a given to take advantage of this beloved 'sport' — especially if you've never played before (we're looking at you Melbourne). What is it? A betting game of heads or tails that was played by the ANZACs during WWI. How should you prep? Take some cash out so you have notes (you'll want some fivers unless you're planning to play hard) and find a good pub where you can watch those sacred two-up coins fall. While there are many venues to choose from, hitting up one of Sydney's best pubs ensures a spirited crowd — and often discounted brews. Our go-to is The Bank in Newtown, where the sunken beer garden is transformed for the occasion with stadium seating, a tinny bar and pub grub — and it's all hosted by legendary local drag queen Tora Hymen. More wild two-up rings pop-up nearby in the leafy beer garden at The Courthouse and in the massive dining room at Darlinghurst's Dolphin Hotel. We also dig the Australiana-vibes at Paddington's The Unicorn and the historic feels at The Rocks' Australian Heritage Hotel. [caption id="attachment_712879" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lu Yang: Electromagnetic Brainology.[/caption] HOP THROUGH THESE NEW ART EXHIBITIONS Sydney has a lot of must-see exhibitions on during April. There's the massive The National 2019, a huge exhibition that features work from 65 contemporary Australian artists and spans the Art Gallery NSW, the Museum of Contemporary Art and Carriageworks. Also showing at the MCA is Janet Lawrence: After Nature — the first exhibition chronicling the Sydney-based artist's 30-year career. It explores 'the link between all living creatures' and includes environmentally charged sculpture, installation, photography and video. Another show-stopping exhibition on at the moment is Hot Blood at Chippendale's free White Rabbit gallery. Expect a showcase of emerging, post-'Great Firewall' Chinese artists who are out to disable our idea of traditional Chinese art. And if you are after traditional Chinese art, then kick on post-The National viewing at AGNSW for Heaven and Earth in Chinese Art. The exhibition features treasures from Taipei's National Palace Museum on display in the southern hemisphere for the first time. It features 87 masterworks, including a jasper stone that resembles a juicy piece of pork belly. VISIT SOME OF THE CITY'S FAVOURITE MARKETS If you're looking to hit the market scene, you can't go past one of Sydney's most lauded farmer's market, which takes place every Saturday within Carriageworks. Over 70 stallholders join forces to offer some of the city's best produce, and it's all curated by acclaimed chef Mike McEnearney. Located on the other side of Sydney's inner west is Tramsheds, a former tram depot-turned-shopping precinct, which holds a Growers Market every Sunday from 8am–2pm, including on Easter Sunday. Expect sustainably grown produce alongside workshops, masterclasses and live entertainment. Plus, heaps of the precinct's eateries will be open throughout the Easter long weekend and on ANZAC Day — including Spanish-style tapas bar Bodega 1904, fresh pasta spot Flour Eggs Water and Egyptian diner Bekya. If you're in town earlier in April, catch the monthly Brewery Markets at Yulli's Brews vegan taproom on Sunday, April 14. There'll be indoor plants, eco-friendly clothing and jarred preserves up for grabs, along with craft brews and restaurant signatures. [caption id="attachment_714401" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Handa Opera: West Side Story. Photo by Hamilton Lund.[/caption] CATCH A LIVE SHOW From Broadway hits and Opera House exclusives to local gigs and free jazz, Sydney has it all. One of the most impressive shows on at the moment is West Side Story, which is performed on a floating stage on Sydney Harbour and backdropped by some of the city's most impressive views. Within the Opera House, you'll find Basement Jaxx Vs The Metropolitan Orchestra, which will see the famed British electronic music duo perform with a live orchestra. And for something more specific to the Easter theme, there's the musical production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on at the Capitol Theatre till Sunday, April 14. And for more local (and budget-friendly) options, you can catch multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter Little Green's jazz, folk and blues for just $15 on Friday, April 26 at 107 Projects. And, for a real bargain, there's free jazz at legendary Venue 505 every Monday through Wednesday. Plus, you can catch Drag and Dine at Priscillas any night of the week from 7.30pm. Forgo the tourist traps and traverse the great City of Sydney like a local instead. Discover more around the city here.
If you're one of those people who's always meaning to give blood, now might be the perfect time to roll up your sleeve. The Australian Red Cross Blood Service needs 99,000 new donors, so it's hosting Australia's first 24-hour donate-a-thon — with some bloody great incentives to get you through the door. A CBD donor centre on Collins Street will be open for 24-hours from 7pm on Thursday, June 13 through to 7pm on Friday, June 14 (aka World Blood Donor Day). To encourage you to donate, there'll be live music, live magic and free food. Oh, and you'll be helping to save up to three lives. We all know it's important to have a bite to eat after giving blood, and for once it'll be more than just a cookie and a party pie. Celebrity chef Frank Camorra of Movida will be serving up 'donor' kebabs, chicken empanadas and Catalan-style custard tarts. And Gelato Messina has created a new flavour just for the occasion — blood orange cheesecake gelato with red velvet cake and raspberry puree. How very fitting.
2020 might just be a mere one month old; however it has already been an eventful year for the British royal family. But if you've been scanning recent tabloid headlines, seeing the chaos surrounding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's decision to step back from being senior royals, and thinking "that'll make a great season of The Crown one day", Netflix has some news for you. While The Crown was originally envisaged as a six-season show — which would've presumably followed Queen Elizabeth II's story up until the present day — creator Peter Morgan has now decided to end the series after its fifth season. As reported by Deadline, the screenwriter said it has become obvious "that this is the perfect time and place to stop". Just how much more of Lizzie's life the show will detail hasn't been revealed. This news doesn't mean that The Crown is ending just yet, though. With the series' third season only hitting Netflix last November, there are still two more seasons to come. The fourth season is in the works at the moment, and will take place during Margaret Thatcher's time as Britain's prime minister — and undoubtedly feature Princess Diana quite heavily. The fifth season is then likely to follow the Queen into the 21st century. One other big change has been announced, too, although it's hardly a surprising one. With the series changing its cast as its story progresses and characters age, Netflix has revealed that Imelda Staunton will play the Queen in The Crown's fifth season. She'll take over from Oscar-winner Olivia Colman, who dons the titular headwear in seasons three and four. Of course, Colman herself took over from season one and two star Claire Foy. Staunton will only spend one season in the top job, but she'll add it to a hefty resume that includes last year's Downton Abbey movie, the Maleficent and Paddington films, her Oscar-nominated work in Vera Drake and the Harry Potter franchise's Dolores Umbridge — to name just a few titles on her resume. Just who'll be joining her in The Crown — aka who'll be playing the older versions of Prince Philip, Princess Margaret, Princes Charles and the rest of the family — hasn't yet been revealed. In case you haven't watched The Crown's third season yet, check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLXYfgpqb8A Via Deadline. Image: Sophie Mutevelian / Netflix
Australia's festival scene keeps delivering heartbreak, with Mona Foma the latest major event to announce that it's no longer going ahead. 2024's fest has already taken place, running back in February, but it will now go down in history as the last-ever Mona Foma. Tasmania's Museum of Old and New Art, aka Mona, has called time on its summer festival after a 16-year run of showcasing music and art — and giving Dark Mofo a sunny counterpart — during the Apple Isle's warmer months. Mona owner and founder David Walsh revealed the end of Mona Foma in a statement, bidding farewell to the event because "it's been magical, but the spell has worn off". [caption id="attachment_784488" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mona/Jesse Hunniford. Image courtesy of the artist and Mona Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia[/caption] "At Mona Foma — Mofo — at the Peacock Theatre, we joined the Zen Circus, and Italian punk came to live, rent free, in my head," starts Walsh's missive, which begins by running through past festival highlights. "In 2023 Peaches turned us all on with her sexy songs, but the thing that turned me on the most was the sign language interpreter signing 'peg'," he continues. "Guy Ben-Ary in 2017, wiring living neurons to speakers and cajoling them to scream. Gotye playing the ondioline. Robin Fox's beacons. David Byrne and Philip Glass. Wire and Cale. The Saints and St Vincent. Dresden Dolls and Dan Deacon. Sun Ra and Neneh Cherry. Kate Miller-Heidke and Vieux Farka Touré." "And the finches playing guitar. From Here to Ear. That was the first one, in 2009. We bought that work, but we've never shown it again. It was too much the first time." [caption id="attachment_880158" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mona/Rémi Chauvin. Image Courtesy Mona, Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.[/caption] "Mona Foma took us around the world. But it ends here. Maybe the end started at COVID. Maybe it's because the last festival was a poorly attended artistic triumph. But those aren't the reasons I killed it," Walsh notes. "I know that we live for experience but, more and more, I seek permanence, a symbolic immortality. At Mona, I'm building this big thing, hopefully it'll be a good thing, but it's a costly thing. I'm addicted to building, and my addiction got out of hand. Some things have to go before I'm too far gone." "Mona Foma is one of those things. It's been magical, but the spell has worn off. Only these words, from Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle, remain: 'live by the Foma that makes you brave and kind and healthy and happy.'" [caption id="attachment_832077" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jesse Hunniford, Mona[/caption] Ending Mona Foma is the latest big change for Mona's festivals. As announced in 2023, Dark Mofo is taking a breather in 2024. A number of the latter's regular events, such as Winter Feast, the Nude Solstice Swim, Night Shift and the Mona Gala are still happening this year, however. With Dark Mofo, the plan is to press pause for 12 months to take stock and come back even better. "The fallow year will enable us to secure the future of Dark Mofo and its return at full force in 2025," said Dark Mofo Artistic Director Chris Twite in 2023. The Mona Foma news comes after both Splendour in the Grass and Groovin the Moo cancelled their 2024 festivals mere weeks after announcing their lineups. Falls Festival took summer 2023–24 off, Summergrounds Music Festival at Sydney Festival was cancelled and This That hasn't gone ahead for a couple of years now. [caption id="attachment_926552" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Amy Brown, image courtesy of Street Eats @ Franko Hobart and Mona Foma.[/caption] 2024's Mona Foma featured Queens of the Stone Age, Courtney Barnett, TISM, Paul Kelly, Mogwai, Shonen Knife, and Cash Savage and The Last Drinks, for starters — and Holy Fuck, Wednesday, Michael Rother and Friends (playing Neu! songs), and Lonnie Holley with Moor Mother and Irreversible Entanglements. The lineup goes on from there. "Gratitude to all of you that came. And to those who didn't, a silver lining: you'll no longer suffer from FOMO for FOMA. And anyway, repetition is regimentation. And regimentation is ridiculous," said Walsh in his announcement. "Greatest gratitude to those who helped put it together. I hope it was as good for you as it was for me." [caption id="attachment_830704" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Remi Chauvin, Mona.[/caption] Mona Foma's last festival took place in February 2024. Head to the MONA website for further details. Top image: Mona/Jesse Hunniford. Image courtesy of the artist and Mona Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Winemakers Marcus Satchell and Lisa Sartori are passionate about patches of dirt, and more specifically the dirt in their three vineyards — Berrys Creek, Tilson and Holgates Road. That's where they grow pinot noir grapes which they use to create bottles of All the Dirts Pinot Noir, as well as their single-dirt pinots. The vineyard is located in Inverloch, Gippsland, and the husband-and-wife team focuses on (if you haven't guessed) making really good pinot noir, but you can also buy rosé, riesling and chardonnay, made from grapes also planted in 'all the dirts'. In the centre of town is the urban Tasting Room (D3HQ), where you can sample Dirty Three's wines alongside local cheeses or charcuterie. If you're travelling in a group, it's recommended to book head for tastings, and you can also arrange catering for special events. In the summer months, the urban cellar door is open daily. Images: Visit Victoria.
Pizza. Pasta. Salumi. Gelato. And don't even get us started on the booze. The Italians have gifted the world with some pretty spectacular food and drink. And the good news is you'll find all that and more at the Italian Wine + Food Festival. Taking over the Royal Exhibition Building on Sunday, June 25, this day-and-night gastronomic bonanza will welcome the proprietors and chefs from some of the most beloved Italian eateries in town. We're talking 400 Gradi and Rosa's Kitchen, to name but a few. There'll be cooking demonstrations and wine-tasting workshops. Those looking to put what they learn into practice can swing by the festival food market and find all the ingredients they need to cook an Italian feast at home. And once you're done shopping you can kick back with a glass of vino, or perhaps a Negroni from the Negroni Bar.
Is summer really summer if you didn't take a road trip? If you want to make the most of the warmer weather and longer days, there's no better way to do it than by exploring somewhere new — and luckily for us, Victoria is full of spots ripe for a weekend away. Take the Yarra Ranges, for instance — the region less than two hours east of Melbourne might be best known for its world-class wine, but it's also home to countless eateries and pubs that champion local produce, plenty of outdoor spots, top-notch cultural institutions and a wide range of accommodation options that range from cosy and affordable to indulgent and luxe. And summer is as good a time as any to check them out. But where to start? If you're considering a weekend road trip to the Yarra Ranges, we've gathered a couple of noteworthy suggestions to add to your itinerary. From where to eat and drink to fun group activities, here's how to make the most of your weekend away. EAT Quarters at Hubert Estate Under an hour's drive from the Melbourne CBD, Hubert Estate is a picture-perfect getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city. The expansive property offers an elegant spread of Australian- and European-inspired sharing dishes at its contemporary restaurant, Quarters, which highlights seasonal ingredients from around Australia. Save room for a homemade pastry or even a nostalgia-inducing chocolate-dipped soft serve. After lunch, stick around to check out the estate's art gallery featuring works by First Nations artists from more than 20 Indigenous artistic communities. Round Bird Can't Fly Nothing beats a hearty meal to kickstart a day, and Round Bird Can't Fly definitely hits the spot for your morning needs. The Lilydale spot boasts all-day breakfast and brunch menus, which feature the likes of house-made english muffins, tofu scramble and hearty burgers. Complete your order with a beverage like a single-origin filter or cold brew, or a locally made tea or smoothie. Healesville Hotel For a warm local welcome, head to Healesville Hotel. This classic village watering hole sources local produce to create its modern gastropub fare — whet your palette with oysters served with mignonette dressing and fresh lime or potato and truffle croquettes, before moving on to larger dishes like beer-battered king george whiting or a plant-based burger with homemade pickles. Pair your order with a selection from the wine list that showcases mostly local producers and boasts a handy selection of by-the-glass drops. Citrine Bistro & Bar For innovative and contemporary dishes, Citrine Bistro & Bar is the place to be. Nestled in the heart of Olinda, this sophisticated restaurant features an elevated menu of comfort classics that changes with the seasons, like a chicken cotoletta served with kohlrabi remoulade and mustard sauce, and a cider-roasted pork cheek with poached apple, candied walnuts and a micro herb-flecked apple slaw. Whatever you choose, be sure to enjoy it with a glass from the all-Australian wine list. Killik Indulge in Australia's first hog rum at Killik. The family-run Belgrave distillery utilises a wild fermentation technique to concoct the unique flavours of hogo — a distinctly fruity flavour originally from Jamaica — which, in this case, presents as tropical fruit, over-ripe banana and strawberry. Head to the distillery at the foot of the verdant Sherbrooke Forest to sample this handcrafted rum neat or mixed in a cocktail. Want to hang around a little longer? Killik also offers a four-course, seven-cocktail bottomless brunch on Sundays. Helen & Joey If you go to the Yarra Valley and don't visit a winery, have you really gone to the Yarra Valley? While there are dozens of world-class cellar doors you can visit, one that we love is Helen & Joey. Head to this expansive cellar door in Gruyere to sample the winery's unconventional drops from its large outdoor deck overlooking the vines and the valley beyond. It's more than the views that you'll remember, though — the cellar door is also home to the estate's family of unicorns. [caption id="attachment_711648" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Robert Blackman, Visit Victoria[/caption] PLAY Take on the Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail She's an icon, she's a legend and she is the moment — it's the Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail. This much-loved 40-kilometre recreation trail is known for its picturesque landscape views that course through the Yarra Valley. Whether you're trekking on foot or riding a bike, you definitely won't get bored of this historic path. Along the way, don't forget to hit up some of the region's cafes, pubs, wineries and restaurants for the full treatment. Catch a gig Love live music? The Yarra Ranges has you covered thanks to its year-round calendar of live acts. This year, keep an eye out for the likes of Burrinja Cultural Centre's Live on the Lawn mini-festival, legendary Aussie rockers The Black Sorrows at Healesville venue The Memo, as well as the Healesville Music Festival and River Folk Festival. Elsewhere, venues like The Railyard in Tecoma, Micawbers Tavern and Sooki Lounge in Belgrave also host regular gigs by local talents. Burrinja Climate Change Biennale Culture vulture? Immerse yourself in art at the Burrinja Climate Change Biennale. Until February 26, the community cultural organisation is hosting a region-wide program that spotlights diverse narratives and perspectives that explore a reimagined future. The works of 44 artists have been included in the program's exhibitions and events, which shed light on crucial climate crisis issues that are occurring across the globe. Support local We're all about supporting local, and the Yarra Ranges is home to a diverse array of creatives and makers you can check out when you want to do just that. Olinda Collective consists of over 30 local stall-holders showcasing craft, vintage and upcycled products, while Clementine by Design in Kallista offers a range of decorative homeware. For plant lovers, Where the Wild Things Grow in Belgrave welcomes beginners and collectors alike to get a bit more green into their lives. STAY Grasmere Lodge Extend your stay in the Yarra Ranges by booking a cosy night at Grasmere Lodge (pictured above). A short drive away from some of the region's finest wineries, this one-bedroom, one-bath space — previously a 1900s fruit-pickers' cottage — sits on a picturesque 32-acre site that's also home to alpacas, cows, chickens and other flora and fauna. Santosa Cottage Looking for a stay that'll get see you surrounded by nature? Look no further than Santosa Cottage. This bed and breakfast hideaway in Sassafras is just the ticket for when you're looking to really get away from it all while still enjoying the creature comforts. The split-level A-frame cottage is nestled in the verdant forest of the Ranges, so you'll be surrounded by leafy gum trees and birdlife. The cottage is also conveniently located near Sassafras Village and Sherbrooke Forest, making it an ideal spot from which to set off on an adventure. Balgownie Yarra Valley Balgownie Yarra Valley screams luxury. This winery and accommodation destination in Yarra Glen provides an array of rooms — 70 to be precise — including ones with private terraces options and spa baths. Guests can also access the property's indoor heated pool, steam room and gym, as well as ten percent off wine purchases from the property's cellar door. Treat yourself even further by booking a treatment at the on-site Endota Spa or a hot-air balloon ride for breathtaking views of the valley. The Farmhouse at Meletos Another high-end option, The Farmhouse at Meletos houses 23 rooms with tranquil views of vines, apple orchards and the Great Dividing Range. Each of the rooms in this Tuscan-inspired building is unique, and is furnished with rare pieces from around the world. The property also boasts an onsite restaurant and cafe plating up elegant, Italian-inspired dishes that showcase premium local produce, as well as a dedicated massage retreat, a perfect spot for when you're after some me-time. To discover more ways to explore the Yarra Ranges this summer, head to the website. Top image: Pat Whelen (Unsplash)
During the pandemic, we all sorely missed the experience of catching live tunes in heaving venues. To get musicians back onstage, the New South Wales government and ARIA launched Great Southern Nights. Following two blockbuster years that saw thousands of gigs pop up across the state, the series is returning in 2024 with a massive 300-plus shows over 17 nights. Live music will ring out throughout NSW between Friday, March 8–Sunday, March 24, with some of the country's biggest musicians and the hottest emerging talent performing in Sydney live music institutions as well as regional hubs including Newcastle, Wagga Wagga, Wollongong, Tamworth and the Northern Rivers. With such a huge lineup, it's hard to know where to start — but let's break it down. ROCK LUMINARIES If you love the classics and have a penchant for the singular sound that is Australian rock, you'll be able to catch sets from Peter Garrett & The Alter Egos, The Church, You Am I, Yothu Yindi, The Whitlams, Black Stump Band, Hoodoo Gurus and Kate Ceberano. BEATS AND BOPS Local hip hop heads can hit up gigs from Barkaa, 360, JK-47, Bliss n Eso, L-Fresh the Lion, Illy, Drapht, YNG Martyr and Jesswar. And if your prerogative is to dance, The Presets, Havana Brown, Tigerlily, Sneaky Sound System, Hermitude and Anna Lunoe are all performing. INDIE FAVES If you're an indie-rock aficionado, Ball Park Music, Sarah Blasko, King Stingray, The Buoys, Ruby Fields, Budjerah, Alex Lahey, Gordi, Gretta Ray, The Vanns, and Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers will be coming to a stage near you. AND A WHOLE LOT MORE Plus, there will be shows from Becca Hatch, Cub Sport, Dune Rats, Vika and Linda, A.Girl, Xavier Rudd, David Campbell, Fanny Lumsden, Kasey Chambers, Kate Miller-Heidke, Redhook and Northlane — and also a special tribute to Rowland S Howard. Check where your faves are playing and what shows are happening near you via the full gig guide, then start planning an epic 17 nights of music stat. Great Southern Nights 2024 will run from Friday, March 8, to Sunday, March 24, throughout New South Wales. Tickets are on sale now via the festival's website. Images: Enmore Theatre, Destination NSW
It happened with Cabaret, Chicago, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Grease. With far less enjoyable results, Cats and The Prom did the same, too. West Side Story has already made the leap, and will do so again later this year. In the Heights also belongs on the list but, so far, Hamilton doesn't. We're talking about stage-to-screen musical adaptations, of course. Obviously, the list goes on, and will continue to do so. If something is an song-fuelled hit in the theatre, it's highly likely to get the big-screen treatment at some point. The latest example: six-time Tony-winning smash Dear Evan Hansen. Due to hit cinemas in September, and just dropping its first trailer, Dear Evan Hansen follows the titular anxious teen. He's advised by his therapist to pen letters to himself to highlight the good aspects of his day; however, when one of his notes ends up in a similarly lonely classmate's hands, it sparks a complex chain reaction. Created for the stage by songwriting and composing duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul — who nabbed an Oscar for La La Land's 'City of Stars' — with playwright Steven Levenson (Fosse/Verdon), the musical spins a story about high school struggles and suicide. If you don't know the full details, the film's trailer outlines the gist. Platt, who definitely isn't a teenager, nonetheless reprises his Tony-winning stage role as the eponymous character in the big-screen version, with Levenson also returning to write the script. Also involved: a cast that spans Amy Adams (The Woman in the Window), Julianne Moore (Lisey's Story), Kaitlyn Dever (Unbelievable) and Amandla Stenberg (The Eddy), plus The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Wonder filmmaker Stephen Chbosky. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeIJG8bZHFo Dear Evan Hansen is set to release in Australian cinemas on September 23.
Christian Thompson is one of the most celebrated contemporary Indigenous artists working today, and Ritual Intimacy represents the first major survey of the artist's extensive and diverse works. Through photography, video, sculpture, performance and sound, he explores notions of identity, race and history, often placing these themes against the backdrop of the Australian environment. Thompson's prodigious talents were recognised from an early age with his early career spent at the side of world-renowned artist Marina Abramovic, who became his mentor. Later, Thompson was accepted into Oxford University, making him one of the first Indigenous Australians to study at the institution in its 900-year history. Taking place at Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA), Ritual Intimacy features a never-before-seen major commission, while also highlighting Thompson's continued exploration of musical works centred around Indigenous language. The exhibition will be on display until July 8. Image: Christian Thompson: Ritual Intimacy installation at Monash University Museum of Art, shot by Andrew Curtis.
"Writing, at its best, is a lonely life," mused Ernest Hemingway. A Nobel Prize winner who hobnobbed with Picasso, Gertrude Stein, James Joyce and Ezra Pound, the prodigal author and journalist had obviously never heard of the Emerging Writers' Festival. If Hemingway were around today, perhaps he would step away from his tattered manuscripts long enough to stop being so downright ungrateful and partake in 10 days of exciting workshops, conferences, performances, panels and collaborative events, designed to remind writers that they're all in this together…alone. The bookworm's answer to Woodstock turns 10 this year and to celebrate is hosting a real fiesta from May 23 to June 10, starting with the word party to end them all. From then it's a programme full of unexpected twists, outlandish characters and choose-your-own-adventure chapters — a real page-turner. Festival director Sam Twyford-Moore has enlisted the aid of five festival ambassadors — poet Khairani 'Okka' Barokka, literary critic Melinda Harvey, travel writer Walter Mason, fiction writer Jennifer Mills and screenwriter John Safran — to host a series of panels and Q&A's in which they will bestow their pearls of bookish wisdom on the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed next generation of upstarts. Reasons to step away from the comfortable glow of the laptop screen include the travelling independent pop-up market Page Parlour, Thousand Pound Bend's Festival Hub (go for black coffee, best accessorised with tattered paperback in hand), abook club with intimidatingly qualified members and workshops on everything from how learning to twerk might cure your writer's block to the relevance of poetry beyond Shakespeare's sonnets. See it all with the festival's equivalent to Charlie's golden ticket, see a lot at the weekend-long Writers' Conference or see a little by choosing your own individually ticketed (and free) standalone events. To quote another of the 21st century's great poets, no man is an island, not even a modern-day Hemingway.
Transport Hotel has likely already caught your eye — it's the bar with the yellow accents in Federation Square. In an ideal central location, it serves up everything you might need: a stellar drinks list, great food and lots of space. Depending on what you're feeling, you can hit the Transport Bar for drinks, or go large and sit down for a proper fancy meal at Taxi Kitchen. Whatever you decide, you're guaranteed to have a good time. Images: Giulia Morlando.
You just can't keep Denmark's Noma in one spot, much to the delight of hungry diners around the planet. Next stop in their global roaming: Mexico. Chef René Redzepi calls the country his adopted home in a letter on the restaurant's website. After popping up in London, Tokyo and Australia's very own Sydney, Tulum is 2017's must-flock-to destination for gastronomic-minded travellers and Noma fans in general. Need more convincing to jump on a plane between April 12 to May 28? Well, the latest short-term residency from one of the world's best eating establishments — a place that has earned the top spot on the World's Best Restaurants list no less than four times, in fact — will be an outdoor, open-air venture nestled between the jungle and the Caribbean Sea. "Exposed to the climate, it will be hot, steaming and unpredictable. Billowing smoke and the orange glow of flames will define us as all cooking will take place over the fire. It will be wild like the Mexican landscape as we share our interpretation of the tastes from one of the most beautiful countries we've come to know," wrote Redzepi in his online statement. And, if that plus Noma's usual blending of their own contemporary Nordic fare with the local cuisine doesn't sound amazing enough, Redzepi will work with his former sous chef Rosio Sanchez to craft a special series of dishes. To whet your appetite, chilli, seafood and mole were all specifically mentioned in Redzepi's post. Of course, eating at Noma Mexico won't come cheap, with the menu set to cost US$600 per person. Registrations open on December 6 for what's certain to be just one of the Copenhagen-based eatery's exciting new developments in 2017. Don't forget, they're also shutting down their existing digs, moving out of the city and re-emerging with a green-focused menu, an urban farm, a greenhouse, a farming team and a field that floats on a raft.
The Prahran Hotel has been around for a while. It's one of those places where a pot of Carlton and a chicken parma is the order of the day. Recently the boys over at Sand Hill Road have made a few changes — dramatic to say the least — and turned the interior into something quite special. At the end of the day, it's still a public bar with a pub food menu, but your surroundings are a little different than before. Sand Hill Road, the team behind the renovations at The Bridge Hotel and The Richmond Club Hotel are known for taking something good and making it great. With the Prahran Hotel, they took some of the original design elements and ran with them. Circular motifs and the porthole were behind the inspiration for the wall of concrete pipes, which now act as booths for people to sit and drink in. Indoor plants, green and white tables and natural light make for an interesting indoor setting and the public bar — where AFL matches are played on the big screen and Carlton Draught is on everyone's lips — is still going strong. Once you've experienced the makeover, you'll find that the food and drink offering stay true to a good pub. You might share a few nibbles with friends like the duo of dips with warm Turkish pide ($12), the spicy lamb fetta meatballs with grilled bread ($15) or the tempura soft shell crab with nam jim ($18). For something on the larger side, pub classics see the beef burger with egg, bacon, tomato, onion, cheese, lettuce and tomato relish served with beer battered chips ($19), the steak sandwich with bacon, cheese and caramelised onion ($20) and the chicken parmagiana with beer battered chips ($21). There are fish and chips ($26) and linguini with prawns, scallops, olives, basil and chilli ($26) for the seafood lovers amongst us, and an eggplant parma with roasted capsicum, beer battered chips and salad ($19) for the vegetarians. When it comes to a good pub, the beer is important. On tap, Carlton Draught, Bohemian Pilsner and Stone & Wood Pacific Ale are pouring, as well as Bulmers for cider drinkers. Bottled beers include Peroni ($8.50), Brooklyn Lager ($9.50) and Mountain Goat IPA ($8.50). Those drinking wine can sip a Louis Perdrier Brut ($9), a Pizzini Pinot Grigio from King Valley ($8.50) or, for something red, try the Paringa Estate''PE' Pinot Noir from the Mornington Peninsula ($65 a bottle). Go for the renovations, stay for the food and drink and make sure you come back for Karma Kegs — a Friday tradition that sees punters pay what they want for a donated keg of Carlton Draught. All proceeds go towards a charity of the Sand Hill boy's choice. Cheers to that.
If you've been making plans to revamp your style, but haven't been able to rustle up the coin or are sick of online shopping, here's your chance. Hugo Boss is hosting a mega sale at its outlet stores. You'll be able to score a further 50 percent off menswear, womenswear, footwear and accessories. Whether you're after a suit for a special occasion or looking to level up your work wardrobe, Hugo Boss's mid-year outlet sale will have you sorted for a fraction of the fashion label's usual prices. You'll have to get in quick to score a bargain though, with the sale running from Wednesday, July 7 until Sunday, July 11 (or until stocks last). To get stylish new threads, Melbourne mates can head to the Preston Boss outlet (Friday–Sunday only) or Essendon DFO, Perth pals to Perth DFO and Gold Coast friends to Harbour Town. The Hugo Boss mid-year outlet sale will run from Wednesday, July 7 till Sunday, July 11, or until stocks last. To find your closest outlet, visit the website.
If you're keen to match a pub meal with a crafty brew or three, South Melbourne's Palace Hotel deserves a firm fixture in your after-work and weekend lunchtime. An impressive craft beer selection and a menu packed with pub classics are this gem's star attractions, and the Sunday roast proves the quintessential winter weekend warm-up. Head in from noon each week, nab a spot by the open fire and tuck into the day's good old-fashioned roast plate, loaded with sides and drizzled with lush house-made gravy. Throw in a few pats for resident pooch Billy and you've got yourself a seriously good winter situation.
Crip Rave Theory is a Melbourne club night that draws on knowledge from members of the disabled community to create a wildly fun and safe space for everyone to party — focusing on intersectional access, self-expression, pleasure and community solidarity. While open to all, Crip Rave Theory centres around and celebrates all those who've traditionally been marginalised and de-prioritised in commercial nightlife spaces. Allies are more than welcome, but they aren't at the core of these parties. And for its RISING rendition on Saturday, June 15, the team is taking over Newport's The Substation with live performances and DJ sets late into the night. UK-Based Aisha Mirza, the creator of MISERY — a mental health-focused club night for queer, trans, intersex and non-binary Black people and people of colour — will have their own DJ set during the night. As will BAE BAE, who also runs a club night in Los Angeles called Hood Rave, which celebrates Black femmes and queer people. They're bringing their unique own unique blend of R&B, house, jungle, garage and dancehall beats to the Crip Rave Theory. There'll also be sets from Tinika, Enter and Aquenta (the founder of Crip Rave Theory), plus a heap of live performers and hosts that have yet to be announced. [caption id="attachment_624133" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Substation in Newport[/caption] It's important to note that tickets differ depending on your intersectional background. First Nations and/ or disabled people can get tickets for $19, queer and trans people for $25, and allies for $49. Those keen to speak to the team running the club night while learning the basics of DJing can also attend Crip Rave Theory's RISING workshop on Friday, June 14.
Located just off Collins St in the heart of Melbourne's CBD, Curry Vault offers modern Indian dishes with a special attention to its wine list. It's the perfect place to kick back for a long lunch (Monday-Friday) or a special dinner (Monday-Saturday). Inside, expect a mix of casual art gallery, classic Indian diner and local bar. This is somewhat formal dining but not at the price of fun. There's a casual and relaxed atmosphere where you can easily spend a few hours like they were minutes. The menu kicks off with a handful of hot appetisers, including traditional Nepalese momo made with minced chicken or seasonal vegetables and served with chutney, and govi pakora – deep-fried cauliflower in a chickpea flour batter. Inside the tandoor, king prawns, chicken, lamb cutlets and fish are cooking. Opt for the mixed platter if you can't decide which you'd prefer. The selection of vegetarian dishes runs from the spicy paneer chilli through to the mild and creamy malai kofta. Or if meat is more your thing, there are seafood, chicken, beef and lamb specials to suit everyone. The prawn malawari stands out, a generous serving of king prawns in a coconut cream sauce. As well as being an Indian restaurant, Curry Vault is also something of a wine bar, specialising in pairing your order with a glass of wine. Their list includes a large selection by the glass or bottle and there is something to complement every dish. Top drops include Castelforte Soave from Veneto in Italy and the Argyle Heathcote shiraz. While they offer up serious food and wine to match, Curry Vault is the kind of place to come in and relax. There's no hurrying you out the door here, and there is always another wine to sample.
Avocados: everyone loves them, not just Aussies accused of spending all their cash on smashed avo for brunch. In Amsterdam, one person loves them so much that he opened up a restaurant dedicated to serving the green creamy fruit up in as many ways as possible. Now, he's thinking about taking the show on the road, including to Australia. The Avocado Show, that is — because that's what the eatery is called. It launched in February in Amsterdam's De Pijp district, and calls itself "Europe's first and finest avocado bar". Breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, late at night, any time in between: if you've got a hankering for avo on bread, avo between two pieces of bread (aka avocado sandwiches), burgers made with avocado buns and more, you'll find it here. https://www.instagram.com/p/BZdMi__FQxc/?taken-by=theavocadoshow With the likes of avo roses on toast, avo poke bowls, avo ice cream and avo daiquiris on offer, the venture has been quite a success — unsurprisingly — which is what has prompted thoughts of expansion. MUNCHIES reports that there'll be new sites in Europe, as well as restaurants in North America, Asia and own our shores. Owner Ron Simpson told the publication he had received franchise requests before the first store even opened, so it's little wonder that 15 additional spots are planned over the next year. As you've probably noticed, avocado isn't literally the only thing on the menu, although every item does include it in some shape or form. If that makes you hungry, feasting your eyes on The Avocado Show's Instagram pics will only make it worse. Keep your eyes peeled for more info about their Aussie ventures while your stomach grumbles, though, with just where and when they'll arrive yet to be revealed. Via MUNCHIES
In early 2016, Little Creatures opened a large-scale brewing operation — its second in Australia — in Geelong, occupying the structure that was once home to the Old Valley Worsted Wool Mill. Keeping the rustic character of the mill and adding its own creative touches, the team — which has since acquired White Rabbit Brewery and launched Furphy — has adapted the property into three distinct sections: The Canteen, White Rabbit Barrel Hall and Furphy Hall, all with unique menus and — most importantly — a range of in-house brew options. The Canteen sits at the end of an old laneway which has been brightened up with colourful stools and flags, while old wooden crates have been repurposed as seats and bar tables to complete the thrown-together space. The kitchen does a classic brunch from 8am on the weekends and otherwise serves pizza and plates to share — think mac 'n' cheese, kangaroo skewers and beef sliders. Just around the corner from The Canteen you'll find White Rabbit Barrel Hall. Stacked wooden barrels and towering brewing tanks invite the visitor down a long hall to explore the internal workings of the nationwide operation. It's also is home to a fully stocked pantry and a menu featuring refined treats like open sandwiches and cheese and salumi options. Both spaces can be booked for events, but the site's premier and newest event venue is the Furphy Hall. Opening its doors in January of this year, Furphy Hall was created in sorts to give back to the Geelong community and celebrate the Furphy Ale: a brew made with 100 percent Victorian hops and malt. If you've made it this far you now know how much there is to explore in Little Creatures' Geelong location. There are brewery tours every day of the week at select times (for $15) and each space offers the option to double as an event venue.
The next time you watch two of Disney's best-loved animated hits, you won't be belting out "it's the circle of life" and "let it go" (or trying to resist the urge to sing along while sitting in a crowded cinema). When The Lion King Reo Maori and Frozen Reo Maori hit theatres in Australia and New Zealand in 2022, they'll still include everything that's made audiences adore both movies over the years — and both films will be dubbed in te reo Māori as well. The Mouse House has announced that it's creating and releasing new Māori-language versions of The Lion King and Frozen in conjunction with NZ company Matewa Media, after Moana Reo Māori proved a big hit. Producers Chelsea Winstanley (Jojo Rabbit) and Tweedie Waititi (Moana Reo Māori, Rūrangi) are behind the new releases, and have started work on giving the two Oscar-winning flicks a new voice. "It was always our dream to dub more Disney films that our tāmariki love into te reo Māori. We are extremely thrilled to continue this journey with The Walt Disney Company — it clearly demonstrates their commitment as a company to diversity and inclusion," said Winstanley. It might seem like a straightforward change, but the importance of giving audiences access to beloved tales in different languages — and, for New Zealanders, in the country's Indigenous language — really can't be underestimated. And, it's hardly common practice, but Moana and now The Lion King and Frozen are leading the charge. Viewers will be able to check out the results in June and September 2022, with The Lion King Reo Maori releasing first to commemorate Matariki (Māori New Year) and Frozen Reo Maori hitting cinemas around Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, Māori Language Week. Presumably, the films will also then head to Disney+ — which is where you can stream Moana Reo Māori right now. Trailers for The Lion King Reo Maori and Frozen Reo Maori don't yet exist, understandably, but you can check out a video for Moana Reo Māori below instead: The Lion King Reo Maori will hit cinemas in June 2022, and Frozen Reo Maori will follow in September 2022 — we'll update you with exact dates when they're announced.
Not once but twice each year, the online-only First Nations Film Festival from streaming service FanForce TV delivers a feast of Indigenous filmmaking for your next couch session. The virtual viewing event initially pops up for National Reconciliation Week. Then, it returns for NAIDOC Week. In 2025, there's a few twists, however — welcome ones. Firstly, the online fest's NAIDOC Week collection is sticking around for an entire month, from Sunday, July 6–Wednesday, August 8 — even though the celebration that it's timed to runs for just one week. Also, if you haven't yet caught this year's National Reconciliation Week films, its season has also been extended until the same date. With the NAIDOC Week package, your choices start with Warwick Thornton's We Don't Need a Map, the acclaimed filmmaker's exploration of the Southern Cross as a symbol. Or, catch Here I Am, the feature debut of writer/director Beck Cole (Deadloch) and star Shai Pittman (Around the Block), which follows a woman seeking redemption upon her release from prison. Other viewing options span Over the Edge, Mother's Day and a range of shorts. You can get access to the entire season for $38.
As Victorian wine regions go, nothing beats a trip to the Yarra Valley. Be it a weekend or a midweek adventure (because wine and time off go hand in hand), the countryside scenery and world-class food and drink offerings make it one of Victoria's top spots for a getaway. If you're craving a romp in vino country, there's an opportunity here for you to book just that. That's thanks to this offering by Visit Yarra Valley and a group of local wineries: Oakridge Wines, Chandon, Punt Road Wines, Giant Steps and St Hubert's. Plus, a local boutique hotel, Chateau Yering. It's a grand prize, to be sure. One lucky winner (and their even luckier plus one) will get a two-night stay in a Melba Suite at Chateau Yering with welcome drinks, a charcuterie board, and daily breakfast. On top of that, there's a three-course dinner with matching wines at Eleonore's Restaurant and a $400 voucher to be used at the winner's choice of the participating wineries. For terms and conditions and to submit your entry, see below, and good luck. [competition]979585[/competition]
As school kids, we're taught to think of art and science as two very different beasts. But neuroscience now shows this dichotomy to be false — when performing most complex tasks, we use both the logical and creative sides of our brain. And this July, at Carriageworks, Japanese artist Ryoji Ikeda will smash this division to smithereens by transforming science into art with two epic installations entitled micro | macro. The work — which Ikeda developed during a residency at the renowned science institution CERN in Switzerland — is divided into two sections. The first, the planck universe [micro], reveals atoms by blowing them up into visible proportions. This mind-bending installation will cover a whopping 172.8 square metres of space inside the Redfern multi-arts institution. The second, the planck universe [macro], is a ten-metre-high projection capturing the natural world in various scales — from the human perspective all the way to the cosmic one. "My work is created by reducing sound, light and the world into sine waves, pixels and data… so that the world can be viewed once more at a different resolution," said Ikeda of his new installations. As you wander through both installations, expect to feel very, very small, while finding yourself asking some big, big questions. What do we know? What can we know? Is what we see really all that it seems? This is Ikeda's third show at Carriageworks, previously presenting Superposition in 2015 and Test Pattern [No 5] in 2013, and it'll be as cutting-edge and immersive as ever. Images: Martin Wagenhan & Zan Wimberley
Beers with ramen. Beers with music. Beers with burgers and board games and bowls. Yes, Good Beer Week is upon us, and, as always, our stein runneth over. Bookended by free parties on opening and closing night, this year's boozy brouhaha features more 270 events at venues all over town. Hope your boss doesn't mind you coming into work with a hangover. Foodies will be enamoured with an array of gastronomic options, including dinners and degustations at such culinary institutions as Le Bon Ton, Fancy Hanks, Babu Ji and Milk the Cow. As it turns out, there isn't much that doesn't go well with an ice-cold beer. Or, preferably, several ice-cold beers. You'll also find plenty of ways to keep yourself entertained, from trivia nights to block parties to a circus show at Hawkers Brewery. We just hope the acrobats stay off the piss. Image: Simon Shiff.
Poirot goes horror in A Haunting in Venice. As unsettling as it was in its pointlessness and indulgence, Death on the Nile's moustache origin story doesn't quite count as doing the same. With Kenneth Branagh (Belfast) back directing, producing and starring as the hirsute Belgian sleuth for the third time — 2017's Murder on the Orient Express came first — Agatha Christie's famous detective now gets steeped in gothic touches and also scores the best outing yet under his guidance. The source material: the acclaimed mystery writer's 1969 novel Hallowe'en Party. Returning screenwriter Michael Green (Jungle Cruise) has given the book more than a few twists, the canal-lined Italian setting being one. Venice makes an atmospheric locale, especially on October 31, in the post-World War II era and amid a dark storm. But perhaps the most important move that A Haunting in Venice makes is Branagh reining in the showboating that became so grating in his first two Poirot movies. Even if you've never read Christie's work or seen Poirot on the screen before, three details have become as widely known as the figure's existence: he's a detective, he's eccentric and, to the benefit of solving cases upon cases, he's obsessive. Thankfully, three also seems to be the magic number in letting the investigator's quirks feel lived in during his current cinema run, rather than constantly overemphasising every idiosyncrasy. Both A Haunting in Venice and Branagh's performance are all the better for that choice. When not just puzzling but also spooking is on offer, such a shift is essential, allowing bumps, jumps and eeriness to set the mood and style over an overdone central portrayal. Branagh is helming a haunted-house story this time around, after all — and while ghost tales need people to torment, overblown identities shouldn't be the most disquieting thing about them. He's also made a picture about grief and trauma, two experiences that change personalities. In relocating to the sinking island city and withdrawing from the whodunnit game, his new status quo when the film begins, A Haunting in Venice's Poirot has already done his own toning down. It's 1947, a decade after the events seen in A Death on the Nile, and bodyguard Vitale Portfoglio (Riccardo Scamarcio, The Translators) helps keep life quiet by sending away everyone who seeks the sleuth's help. The exception: Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey, Only Murders in the Building), a Christie surrogate who is not only also a celebrated author, but writes crime fiction based on Poirot (with Fey slipping into her shoes, she's a playful source of humour, too). When the scribe comes a-knocking, it's with an invite to a séance, where she's hoping that her pal will help her to discredit the medium, Joyce Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All At Once), who has the town talking. The supernatural isn't Poirot's thing, unsurprisingly. Usually, that applies to the stories that he's in and his perspective. But Ariadne herself is starting to be convinced that Joyce might be the real deal, as she explains while persuading her friend into assisting. In A Haunting in Venice, belief isn't much Poirot's thing either — although unnerving visions do begin lingering in his view. As much as Branagh, cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos (another veteran of the first two pictures), composer Hildur Guðnadóttir (an Oscar-winner for Joker) and editor Lucy Donaldson (The Midnight Club) have fun diving into horror, and they do, embracing the occult was never going to be on the cards for movie's main character. Instead, getting his mystery-solving mojo back is part of the predictable plot; more than in Branagh's past two Poirot flicks, A Haunting in Venice feels comfortable rather than inert in its formula. From that setup, the film unfurls over one night and in a sole spot: a grand yet crumbling palazzo. The building was previously an orphanage where many kids met their death and has seen other folks follow them since, with local legend chalking up the abode's misfortunes to "the children's vendetta". Ex-opera singer Rowena Drake (Kelly Reilly, Yellowstone) now owns the structure — and it's her daughter Alicia's (feature debutant Rowan Robinson) passing that's inspired her to enlist Reynolds' services. Count her among the suspects when a body shows up, alongside Leslie Ferrier (Jamie Dornan, The Tourist), Drake's family doctor; Leopold (Jude Hill, Branagh's Belfast breakout), his precocious son; Olga Seminoff (Camille Cottin, Call My Agent!), the mansion's housemaid; Desdemona and Nicholas Holland (The Crowded Room's Emma Laird and Everyone Else Burns' Ali Khan), brother-and-sister war refugees; and Maxime Gerard (Kyle Allen, West Side Story), Alicia's American former fiancé. The expected Poirot template still dictates A Haunting in Venice's basics; few deductive skills are needed to see why Hallowe'en Party's name and city were changed to fit the franchise's mould, for instance. So, murders occur, fingers are pointed, everyone has a motive and the movie's main man gives his brain a workout. Also, getting the pool of accused jostling — and the actors playing them, of course — remains as baked into the feature as in its predecessors. This rogues' gallery makes a finer job of it than the past talents in the same position with Branagh. They're more cohesive as a group, and even as well. Fey sparkles with acerbic wit, Yeoh is confidently serene, Cottin frays nervily, Laird is a picture of unease, and having Dornan and Hill play father and son again after Belfast is a nice touch. With Branagh bringing more nuance to his role than ever, his co-stars never feel like they're being thrust into the shadows by their director and lead. There's zero subtlety in the filmmaking, though, nor should there be in a gleeful gothic-horror spin on Poirot. Cue a wealth of visual flourishes that convey a murder-mystery with purposefully disorientating excess — and shine. Thanks to Venice, the horror genre's fans will already be thinking about 70s great Don't Look Now, which arrived in cinemas before that decade's Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. Spotting odes to Italian giallo master Dario Argento are easy to find, too. Close ups, tilted angles, wide-angle shots, leaping from high to low perspectives, tight focus, making the utmost of the Venetian architecture: they all add to the macabre-and-loving-it air. They also boost a much-needed point of difference in these whodunnit-heavy times. Branagh's flicks have been outshone comically by everything from Knives Out and its sequel to the small screen's Only Murders in the Building and The Afterparty, so getting creepy proves a successful way of fending off their spirits; fittingly, it's a canny trick and enough of a treat.
Tear into warm injera and mouth-watering stews at Northcote's new home of Ethiopian cuisine. Now open on High Street, MESOB takes its name from the traditional straw-woven containers that serve as both bread basket and communal dining table. And if you've ever eaten Ethiopian before, you'll know that the communal element is half the fun. Forgoing cutlery, diners at MESOB instead use the injera (a traditional Ethiopian gluten-free flatbread made with teff flour) to shovel their food directly from share plate to mouth. It's perfect for messy eaters, or anyone who enjoys licking their fingers clean at the end of a meal. Start with dips and sambosa (pastry stuffed with spiced beef or fish) before moving onto a selection of stews made with chicken, beef or lentils. One main in particular that grabs our attention is the doro wot, described on the menu at the national dish of Ethiopia: mildly spiced chicken simmered with onions, ginger and spices, topped with a whole hard-boiled egg. They also offer a number of colourful chef's platters, for customers who can't make up their minds (or just want to try a bit of everything). Ethiopian cuisine doesn't typically feature dessert, but keep your eyes on MESOB's specials board for the occasional sweet treat. Of course MESOB isn't the northside's only new Ethiopian joint, with Saba's Ethiopian Restaurant opening in Fitzroy late last year. We're already on record as being big fans of their work, so here's hoping their Northcote compatriot is up to scratch. Image: avry via Flickr.
Touring to Australia for the first time in more than five years for your first Aussie festival headlining slot since 2011 is one way to celebrate 35 years as a band. The group: Tool. The fest: Good Things. For 2025, Maynard James Keenan and company lead the fest's big names. Also on the bill: Weezer and Garbage. Get ready to hear 'Sober', 'Forty Six & 2', 'Buddy Holly', 'Island in the Sun', 'Vow' and 'Only Happy When It Rains' like it's the 90s and early-00s again — all on Friday, December 5 at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne. The rest of the bill includes All Time Low, Machine Head and The All-American Rejects, as well as Knocked Loose, Lorna Shore, Refused, New Found Glory and Make Them Suffer. And, you can catch Dayseeker, James Reyne, Kublai Khan TX, Cobra Starship, Goldfinger, Tonight Alive and more. Good Things 2025 Lineup Tool Weezer Garbage All Time Low Machine Head The All-American Rejects Knocked Loose Lorna Shore Refused New Found Glory Make Them Suffer Dayseeker James Reyne Kublai Khan TX Cobra Starship Goldfinger Tonight Alive Bad Nerves Civic Dead Poet Society Fever 333 Gwar High Vis Inertia Palaye Royale Scene Queen South Arcade Wargasm Windwaker Yours Truly Top Tool image: Scott Moran. Good Things images: Kane Hibberd.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas across the country. After months spent empty, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, Australian picture palaces are back in business — spanning both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, comedies, music documentaries, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ivHf4ODMi4 JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH The last time that Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield appeared in the same film, Get Out was the end result. Their shared scene in Jordan Peele's Oscar-winning horror movie isn't easily forgotten (if you've seen the feature, it will have instantly popped into your head while you're reading this), and neither is Judas and the Black Messiah, their next exceptional collaboration. With Kaluuya starring as the Black Panther Party's Illinois Chairman Fred Hampton and Stanfield playing William O'Neal, the man who infiltrated his inner circle as an informant for the FBI, the pair is still tackling race relations. Here, though, the duo does so in a ferocious historical drama set in the late 60s. The fact that O'Neal betrays Hampton isn't a spoiler; it's a matter of fact, and the lens through which writer/director Shaka King (Newlyweeds) and his co-scribes Kenneth Lucas, Keith Lucas (actors on Lady Dynamite) and Will Berson (Scrubs) view the last period of Hampton's life. The magnetic Kaluuya has already won a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe for his performance, and is bound to be nominated for and likely win an Oscar as well — and if he wants to keep acting opposite Stanfield in movies this invigorating, ardent, resonant and essential, audiences won't complain. It's 1966 when O'Neal falls afoul of the law for trying to impersonate an FBI agent to steal a vehicle. With J Edgar Hoover (Martin Sheen, Grace and Frankie) directing his employees to "prevent the rise of a 'messiah' who could unify and electrify the militant black nationalist movement" — his real-life words — the car thief is offered a deal by actual FBI Special Agent Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons, I'm Thinking of Ending Things). If O'Neal cosies up to Hampton, then reports back on his comings, goings, political moves and general plans, he'll avoid jail. Initially apprehensive, he acquiesces to keep his freedom. With Hampton's raging speeches earning him a firm following, and his charisma and canny strategies broadening the crowds hanging on his words, O'Neal's task isn't minor. And the further he ingratiates himself into Hampton's confidence, becoming his head of security, the more he's torn about keeping tabs and doing the government's increasingly nefarious bidding. This isn't just a story about one young Black man coerced into bringing down a rising leader and revolutionary, however. It's also a tale about the figure who mobilised the masses as Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X had, until he was shot while he slept at the age of just 21. And, it's an account of the powers-that-be's abject fear of progress, equality, and the crusaders willing to put their lives on the line to fight for justice and a better world. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBjcbZla2cA GIRLS CAN'T SURF Exploring the gender imbalance in professional surfing, especially during the 80s and 90s as women in the sport were starting to attract the world's attention, Girls Can't Surf feels like a floodgates-bursting documentary. Watching female stars of the era talk about their experiences, including the vast disparity in prize money between men and women and how that affected their efforts to make a living, it's easy to see this candid and detailed film setting a template for a wealth of other movies. As fans of any type of women's sport well and truly know, differing treatment, pay, sponsorship and levels of respect aren't restricted to hitting the waves. Indeed, as the doco's high-profile parade of talking heads offer their thoughts and recollections — such as former world champions Frieda Zamba, Wendy Botha, Pam Burridge, Pauline Menczer, Lisa Andersen and Layne Beachley — many of their words could be uttered by any number of female athletes in a wide range of fields. That truth doesn't undercut the doco's power, or downplay what women surfers have been through. Rather, it underscores the importance of continually shining a light on the way the sporting arena has routinely sidelined, undermined and devalued anyone who isn't male. "If you can't see it, you can't be it" is one of Girls Can't Surf's resonant and universal sound bites, and it's easily applicable far beyond the film's specific stories and the sport in focus. Indeed, when Beachley talks about how she used to mill around surfing contests as a teen starting out in the field, and annoy the ladies she'd soon be competing against, you can see those words in action; if earlier generations of women hadn't already been hanging ten, Australia's seven-time champ wouldn't have had any footsteps to follow in. The film is filled with astute insights and telling connections such as these. It all leads to the well-publicised recent development, only back in 2018, of equal winnings for men and women being mandated by the World Surf League from 2019 onwards. That happy ending benefits today's stars, such as Stephanie Gilmore, Tyler Wright and Carissa Moore, but it came too late for Girls Can't Surf's interviewees. Once again, knowing that significant change has finally come to the sport doesn't diminish the potency of hearing about the horrors, struggles and rampant sexism that female surfers endured for decades — with two-time feature surf documentarian Christopher Nelius (Storm Surfers 3D) smartly bringing those tales to the fore, and the people sharing them as well. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb9PBr7Qhec MAX RICHTER'S SLEEP Since first opening its doors back in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has played host to a wealth of performances, spanning far further in genre than just the art form that gives the venue its name. But it was only during Vivid Live 2016 that the iconic locale serenaded visitors into an evening-long slumber, all as part of Max Richter's live recital of his eight-and-a-half hour work Sleep. Across 31 tracks comprised of 204 movements, the German-born British composer's concept album unfurls music based on the neuroscience of getting some shuteye. In its intonation, the ambitious yet soothing piece favours the range that can be heard in the womb for much of its duration. When performed for an audience, it is played overnight, with beds set up — and doing as the work's title suggests is highly encouraged. Attendees recline, listen and let Richter's blend of strings, synthesisers and soprano vocals lull them into the land of nod. If they'd prefer to stay awake, that's fine as well, but soaking in Sleep's ambient sounds while you're snatching 40 winks is all very much part of the experience. In its live version, Sleep has echoed through spaces in London, Berlin and Paris, too; however, it's the first openair performance in Los Angeles' Grand Park in 2018 that takes pride of place in the documentary Max Richter's Sleep. A filmmaker was always bound to be so fascinated with the concept that they'd turn their lens Richter's way, and that director is Natalie Johns (an Emmy nominee for Annie Lennox: Nostalgia Live in Concert), who endeavours to capture the experience for those who haven't had the pleasure themselves. The resulting film doesn't run for more than eight hours, or anywhere close — but those watching and listening will quickly wish that it did. As a feature, Max Richter's Sleep isn't designed to advertise its namesake. Rather, it documents, explores and tries to understand it. Still, the movie so easily draws viewers into the music, and so deeply, that making its audience want to snooze in public while Richter and his band plays is a guaranteed side effect. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZSLvFo0eus COSMIC SIN Reminding viewers of far better movies while they're watching yours isn't a smart or recommended filmmaking tactic, but it's what writer/director Edward Drake (Broil) does best with Cosmic Sin. By casting Bruce Willis in this science fiction slog, it immediately brings The Fifth Element to mind. That influential 1997 movie just keeps inspiring flicks that don't feature Willis of late — see also: Chaos Walking — but it leaves a particularly heavy imprint here. Indeed, it's impossible not to think of the rosier era in the actor's career that The Fifth Element represents as Willis is grimacing his way through scene after scene in Cosmic Sin, and visibly putting in zero effort. It's difficult not to think of 1998's Armageddon, too, a movie that isn't at all great but is certainly better than this new space war-fuelled picture. Drake clearly wants audiences to make these connections, which is why his feature spends far more time than it should watching Willis meander around looking unimpressed and wearing plastic armour, all while playing a disgraced military head honcho on the comeback trail. And, it must be why the film squanders Frank Grillo, who also hasn't had a great run of late (as seen in Jiu Jitsu and Boss Level), but has been screaming for years for a movie that makes the most of his presence. The year is 2524. Earth is now an old hand at attempting to colonise other planets. And when one such celestial body tried to break away five years earlier, Willis' James Ford handled it by committing mass murder. Now, a group of aliens from a just-discovered civilisation is attempting to give humans a taste of their own medicine. Ford is brought back as part of a ragtag team tasked with defending life as everyone 500 years in the future knows it, which also includes General Eron Ryle (Grillo), his nephew Braxton (Brandon Thomas Lee, Sierra Burgess Is a Loser), quantum tech Fiona Ardene (Adelaide Kane, Once Upon a Time) and fellow veteran Marcus Bleck (Costas Mandylor, In Like Flynn). Cue a movie that's never as over-the-top as it needs to be to keep viewers even remotely interested, and a bland affair all-round. The film's fondness for tech jargon-heavy nonsense dialogue doesn't help. Cosmic Sin's vision of the future — including its laughable robot bartenders — also looks as awkward as its narrative and performances feel. And while Drake and his co-writer Corey Large (Breach, and also a co-star here) endeavour to ponder deeper themes, including humanity's historical penchant for exploring the world and conquering everything in sight, that too proves flimsy. It isn't intentional, but Willis' bored look says everything it needs to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVOH9540Sbg THEN CAME YOU With film distributors playing it coy and cautious when it comes to releasing their hopeful box office hits during the pandemic, movies that mightn't have otherwise made their way into cinemas are currently getting a shot at the big screen. In some cases, that's excellent news for small but exceptional features that would've likely been dwarfed by blockbusters. In others, flicks that no one should have to pay to endure are also reaching theatres. Then Came You falls into the latter category. A vanity project for American talk show host Kathie Lee Gifford, who stars in and wrote the not-at-all romantic or comedic rom-com, it'd test patience even if it was watched with just one eye half-open and after several drinks in the middle of a long-haul flight. As well as lazily using culture-clash tropes to throw obstacles in the way of its chalk-and-cheese central duo — a newly widowed American hardware shop owner (Gifford, Sharknado 5: Global Swarming) and the Scottish Lord (Craig Ferguson, Hot in Cleveland) whose crumbling mansion she books for the first stop on a globe-hopping getaway — this trite affair hasn't met a clunky double entendre it didn't love, or a predictable plot development that can be seen from Nantucket to Scotland. First, Annabelle Wilson and Howard Awd converse via email, which Then Came You has the pair read aloud in its opening moments. Then, she announces to her empty house that she has to make new memories or the old ones will kill her, heads to the UK, is shocked that Scotland has working trains, and alternates between flirting and arguing with her host. He has a sob story, too, and he's also struggling to retain his sprawling, stereotypical-looking estate. He has a high-powered London-based bride-to-be (Elizabeth Hurley, Runaways) as well — but there's never any doubting how Then Came You will end. Rom-coms frequently stick to a template; however, it is possible to liven up a creaky formula with snappy dialogue and warm, charismatic performances. As directed with the forceful gloss of a TV commercial by second-time feature helmer Adriana Trigiani (Big Stone Gap) and often set to the same repeated song (also co-written by Gifford), this film sadly struggles with both its core rapport and its leading lady's overacting. He's worlds away from his own former TV hosting gig on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and from his sitcom tole on The Drew Carey Show, but the fact that the reliably charming Ferguson fares best here, even with the grating material, hardly comes as a surprise. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on November 5, November 12, November 19 and November 26; and December 3, December 10, December 17, December 26; and January 1, January 7, January 14, January 21 and January 28; February 4, February 11, February 18 and February 25; and March 4. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as The Craft: Legacy, Radioactive, Brazen Hussies, Freaky, Mank, Monsoon, Ellie and Abbie (and Ellie's Dead Aunt), American Utopia, Possessor, Misbehaviour, Happiest Season, The Prom, Sound of Metal, The Witches, The Midnight Sky, The Furnace, Wonder Woman 1984, Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles, Nomadland, Pieces of a Woman, The Dry, Promising Young Woman, Summerland, Ammonite, The Dig, The White Tiger, Only the Animals, Malcolm & Marie, News of the World, High Ground, Earwig and the Witch, The Nest, Assassins, Synchronic, Another Round, Minari, Firestarter — The Story of Bangarra, The Truffle Hunters, The Little Things, Chaos Walking and Raya and the Last Dragon.
Burger lovers of Melbourne, rejoice — yet another (yes, another) place selling your favourite food is posed to join the culinary lineup. If you've ever been on holiday in Queensland and grabbed a burg on the Gold or Sunshine Coasts, then you might be familiar with our newest resident from up north: Betty's Burgers. After announcing they'd be opening new stores in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane last month, their shiny new burger joint is now open at 97 Elizabeth Street — their first outside of Queensland. So what's Betty's all about? Well they do a range of burgs that have been pretty well received up north. You can except their classic, crispy chicken, pork belly and mushroom signature burgers to make their way to Melbourne, as well as their insane Shake Shack-esque frozen custard concoctions. These are called 'concretes', and you can choose to get things like peanut brittle, pecan pudding, doughnuts and lemon cheesecake mixed through them. A photo posted by Betty's Burgers & Concrete Co. (@bettys_burgers) on Dec 2, 2016 at 12:22am PST The concept sounds similar to Melbourne burger joint Royal Stacks, which also does burgers and frozen custard desserts, although it must be noted that Betty's was first opened in Noosa by David Hales in 2014 (before Royal Stacks' time). He has since opened two stores on the Gold Coast — one at Surfers Paradise and one at Robina. Betty's Burgers is now open from 10am till late seven days a week at 97 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne. For more info, visit bettysburgers.com.au. Interior images: Carmen Zammit. Words by Lauren Vadnjal and Sarah Ward.
While we think record hunting with your crush makes for a particularly adorable date, it can also be pretty thirsty work. Thankfully, Kensington has the answer in the form of White Rabbit Record Bar, where you can either grab a coffee or an Alice in Wonderland-themed cocktail. As you can imagine, vinyl spins day and night, and food is available if you need sustenance between searching sessions.
Alexandros Kouris speaks a lot about alchemy. As the owner and founder of the Nissos Brewery on the island of Tinos, he’s not just talking about the rich golden colour of his beer; he’s talking about what makes a craft beer great. “I can’t explain it chemically to you, but there’s an alchemy,” Kouris laughs. “Happy people make good beer.” Nissos Pilsner has made it to the Australian craft beer market all the way from the sunshine and aquamarine seas of the Greek island of Tinos, 6 nautical miles from Mykonos. It’s a beer craft drinkers will be drawn to not just for its unique taste (a citrusy, refreshing and full-bodied pilsner) but as a winsome example of the craft beer ethos. Nissos beer is brewed and bottled in small quantities by 15 local Tinos islanders, using purely natural, traditional and slow brewing processes, as well as Greek ingredients. For Kouris, this local authenticity is very much the appeal, and why he believes the resurgence of craft beers is well deserved. “I’m a great believer that food and drink should be — it’s not the product, it’s not the commercial product — it’s part of our culture,” says Kouris. “So if I take from your hands the production of food and drink I take part of your identity ... I come here with my beers and taste yours and I take back yours, this is beautiful, this is human. And this is human skill and it keeps the world alive.” Kouris entered the world of craft beer following the Global Financial Crisis, when he decided to sell off what companies he had. He says that while everyone in Greece was afraid and taking money out of the country, he wanted to do the opposite. “I loved beer. I followed the craft beer movement all around the world," he says. "I love the Cycladic island of Tinos and I said, putting the two together that could create a very good business, one that will make me happy and one that will, I hope, inspire people in Greece.” It seems his gamble has paid off. Last year the small brewery came away with silver in the Pilsner category at the European Beer Competition (which Kouris describes as the “Oscars” of beer competitions) against 1613 other international beers. Impressive, given the brewery was only 17 months old and produces only one beer, but hardly surprising for a pilsner whose herbal and citrus aroma and crispness tastes like a liquid advertising campaign for life on a Greek isle. This year, the taste and story of the beer has been discovered by Nick Manettas (of Nick’s Seafood Restaurant), who has embarked on a successful campaign to bring Nissos to the Australian market and into your craft beer-ready glass. “It’s very distinct, it’s very full-bodied as a pilsner and apparently it’s very good, people love it,” smiles Kouris. “And you know, this is alchemy.” You can find Nissos on exclusive release to all of the Nick’s Restaurant and Bar Group venues before it begins wider distribution to a pub near you over the next year. So keep your eyes on your craft beers and a Greek island shanty in your heart.
When Michael Crichton put pen to paper and conjured up a modern-day dinosaur-filled amusement park, he couldn't have known exactly what he'd done. The author easily imagined the story making its way to the big screen, because the Jurassic Park novel started out as a screenplay. He could've also perceived that a whole film franchise could follow, and that folks would be quoting the movies for decades. And yet, we're guessing that he didn't predict the latest development: a recreation of Jurassic World, the fourth movie in the series, out of Lego. Australians will soon be able to wander through and peer at more than 50 dinosaurs, props and scenes from the 2015 movie that have all been recreated with the popular plastic bricks. They'll be on display at Jurassic World by Brickman, an exhibition that'll hit the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from Thursday, April 1–Monday, May 31, then tour the rest of the country. Exactly which other cities Jurassic World by Brickman will head to, and when, hasn't been revealed as yet — but there is plenty for Melburnians and Aussies elsewhere to look forward to. More than six million Lego blocks have been used in the exhibition, to create the four-metre-tall park gates, the lab where the dinosaurs are genetically engineered, those instantly recognisable jeeps, a petting zoo, a heap of creatures and more. Lego dinosaurs are obviously the main attraction, and this event is going big. There'll be a life-sized brachiosaurus that weighs more than two tonnes, a huge tyrannosaurus rex, two life-sized velociraptors (Blue and Delta), and everything from a stegosaurus to a triceratops, too. You'll see some in a baby dinosaur enclosure, encounter some on the loose, and learn how to track them over the exhibition's recreation of Isla Nublar (while using your imagination a whole heap, obviously). If it all sounds rather sizeable, Jurassic World by Brickman will be the largest Lego experience in Australia. And if getting a closer look at Jurassic World sounds a little familiar, you might remember the non-Lego exhibition that hit Melbourne back in 2016. Lego aficionados will also be able to get building while they're there, with 2.5 million bricks to play with. Obviously, this'll be a family-friendly affair, so expect to have plenty of small dinosaur fans for socially distanced company. Jurassic World by Brickman makes its world premiere in Melbourne and, after hitting up the rest of Australia, will also tour globally. And if you're wondering when you'll next see a Jurassic World flick on the big screen, Jurassic World: Dominion — the followup to 2018's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom — is due to release in June 2022. Jurassic World by Brickman will display at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from Thursday, April 1–Monday, May 31, before touring the rest of the country — with other stops around Australia yet to be announced. Tickets for the Melbourne run go on sale at 10am AEDT on Thursday, March 11.
Spilling out from World Science Festival, Curiocity Brisbane (22 March–2 April, 2023) takes over the wider city of Brisbane. Art meets STEM in a landscape of experiences and installations designed to challenge and enlighten urban explorers. Use augmented reality to bring memory fragments to life, encounter kinetic art through an intense colour spectrum in a changing parabolic curve, interact with playful cybernetics and help teach AI in real time. Take a free curator tour to take a deeper dive into the meaning behind the artworks, which includes the interactive "sound sculptures" T.H.E.M (that's The Handmade Electric Machines, if you're curious — a collection of six sound and lighting mechanisms brought to life by musicians, artists and designers). The free Curious Conversations program offers discussions on topics such as the future of AI, our role in the natural world and First Nations artists' relationship with history, culture and traditional knowledge. [caption id="attachment_804118" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Curiocity 2021, Markus Ravik[/caption] But, Curiocity Brisbane isn't just for the daylight hours. Art installations will be scattered along the streets and South Bank, disrupting the reverie of the river city with thought-provoking displays and unexpected intrusions, both visual and auditory. Curiocity Brisbane pops up around Brisbane from Wednesday, March 22–Sunday, April 2, 2023.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas in some parts of the country. After numerous periods spent empty during the pandemic, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, picture palaces in many Australian regions are back in business — including both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION When Jurassic World Dominion was being written, three words must've come up often. No, they're not Neill, Dern, Goldblum. Those beloved actors reunite here, the trio appearing in the same Jurassic Park flick for the first time since the 1993 original, but the crucial terms are actually "but with dinosaurs". Returning Jurassic World writer/director Colin Trevorrow mightn't have uttered that phrase aloud; however, when Dominion stalks into a dingy underground cantina populated by people and prehistoric creatures, Star Wars but with dinosaurs instantly springs to mind. The same proves true when the third entry in this Jurassic Park sequel trilogy also includes high-stakes flights in a rundown aircraft that's piloted by a no-nonsense maverick. These nods aren't only confined to a galaxy far, far away — a realm that Trevorrow was meant to join as a filmmaker after the first Jurassic World, only to be replaced on Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker — and, yes, they just keep on coming. There's the speedy chase that zooms through alleys in Malta, giving the Bond franchise more than a few nods — but with dinosaurs, naturally. There's the plot about a kidnapped daughter, with Taken but with dinosaurs becoming a reality as well. That Trevorrow, co-scribe Emily Carmichael (Pacific Rim Uprising) and his usual writing collaborator Derek Connolly (Safety Not Guaranteed) have seen other big-name flicks is never in doubt. Indeed, too much of Dominion feels like an attempt to actively make viewers wish they were watching those other movies. Bourne but with dinosaurs rears its head via a rooftop chase involving, yes, dinos. Also, two different Stanley Kubrick masterpieces get cribbed so blatantly that royalties must be due, including when an ancient critter busts through a door as Jack Nicholson once did, and the exact same shot — but with dinosaurs — hits the screen. What do Star Wars, Bond, Bourne and The Shining have to do with the broader Jurassic Park film saga, which started when Steven Spielberg adapted Michael Crichton's book into a box-office behemoth? That's a fantastic question. The answer: zip, zero and zilch, other than padding out Dominion as much as possible, as riffs on Indiana Jones, The Birds, Alien, Mad Max: Fury Road, Austin Powers, the Fast and Furious movies, cloning thrillers, disaster epics and more also do. In nearly every scene, and often at the frame-by-frame level, another feature is channelled so overtly that it borders on parody. And, that's on top of the fact that recycling its own history is just Dominion 101. There's no theme park, but when it's mentioned that dinosaurs are being placed in a sanctuary, everyone watching knows that the film's human characters will get stranded in that spot, trying not to be eaten by a Tyrannosaurus rex and the like. From all of the above, a loose narrative emerges — an overstuffed and convoluted one, too. A few years on from 2018's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, people are endeavouring to co-exist with dinosaurs. Unsurprisingly, it's going terribly. Run by Mark Zuckerberg-esque entrepreneur Lewis Dodgson (Campbell Scott, WeCrashed), tech company BioSyn owns that safe dino space in the Italian Dolomites, although palaeobotanist Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern, Marriage Story) and palaeontologist Alan Grant (Sam Neill, Rams) also tie the firm to giant dino-locusts wreaking existence-threatening havoc. Plus, ex-Jurassic World velociraptor whisperer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt, The Tomorrow War) and his boss-turned-girlfriend Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard, Rocketman) head BioSyn's way when the adopted Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon) — who links back to the first Jurassic Park thanks to Forbidden Kingdom's ridiculous storyline — is snatched. Oh, and mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum, Search Party) works there, as does cloning whiz Henry Wu (BD Wong, Mr Robot). Read our full review. A HERO With apologies to Bonnie Tyler, cinema isn't holding out for a hero — and hasn't been for some time. The singer's 80s-era Footloose-soundtrack hit basically describes the state of mainstream movies today, filled as screens now are with strong, fast, sure and larger-than-life figures racing on thunder and rising on heat. But what does heroism truly mean beyond the spandex of pop-culture's biggest current force? Who do we hold up as role models, and as feel-good champions of kind and selfless deeds? How do those tales of IRL heroism ebb, flow and spread, too? Pondering this far beyond the caped-crusader realm is Asghar Farhadi, a two-time Oscar-winner thanks to A Separation and The Salesman. As is the acclaimed Iranian filmmaker's gambit, his latest movie is intricately complicated, as are its views on human nature and Iranian society. As Farhadi has adored since 2003's Dancing in the Dust — and in everything from 2009's exceptional About Elly to his 2018 Spanish-language feature Everybody Knows as well — A Hero is steeped in the usual and the everyday. The 2021 Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix-winner may start with a sight that's the absolute opposite thanks to necropolis Naqsh-e Rostam near the Iranian city of Shiraz, an imposingly grand site that includes the tombs of ancient Persian rulers Xerxes and Darius, but the writer/director's main concerns are as routine, recognisable and relatable as films get. One such obsession: domestic disharmony, aka the cracks that fracture the ties of blood, love and friendship. A Hero sprawls further thematically, wondering if genuine altruism — that is, really and wholeheartedly acting in someone else's interest, even at a cost to oneself — can ever actually exist. But it charts that path because of the frayed and thorny relationships it surveys, and the everyman caught within them. When A Hero begins, calligrapher and sign painter Rahim Soltani (Amir Jadidi, Cold Sweat) is no one's saviour, victor or ideal. While he definitely isn't a villain, he's just been given a two-day pass from an Iranian debtor's prison, where he's incarcerated over a family financial feud. Owing 150,000,000 tomans to his ex-wife's brother-in-law, he's stuck serving out his sentence unless he can settle it or his creditor, copy shop owner Bahram (Mohsen Tanabandeh, Capital), agrees to forgive him. The latter is unlikely, so with his girlfriend Farkhondeh (debutant Sahar Goldust), Rahim hatches a repayment plan. She has stumbled across a handbag filled with 17 gold coins, and together they hope to sell it, then use the proceeds to secure his freedom — except, when they attempt to cash in, they're told that their haul won't reach anywhere the sum they need. Instead, with a mixture of guilt and resignation — and at Farkhondeh's suggestion — Rahim decides to track down the coins' rightful owner. Cue signs plastered around the streets, then an immensely thankful phone call. Cue also the prison's higher-ups discovering Rahim's efforts, and wanting to cash in themselves by eagerly whipping up publicity around their model inmate's considerate choice. The media lap it up, as do the locals. Rahim's young son Siavash (newcomer Saleh Karimaei), a quiet boy with a stutter that's been cared for by his aunt Malileh (fellow first-timer Maryam Shahdaei), gets drawn into the chaos. A charity that fundraises to resolve prisoners' debts takes up the cause, too. Still, the stern and stubborn Bahram remains skeptical, especially as more fame and attention comes Rahim's way. Also, the kind of heroism that's fuelled via news reports and furthered by social media is fickle above all else, especially when competing information comes to light. Read our full review. BENEDICTION To write notable things, does someone need to live a notable life? No, but sometimes they do anyway. To truly capture the bone-chilling, soul-crushing, gut-wrenching atrocities of war, does someone need to experience it for themselves? In the case of Siegfried Sassoon, his anti-combat verse could've only sprung from someone who had been there, deep in the trenches of the Western Front during World War I, and witnessed its harrowing horrors. If you only know one thing about the Military Cross-winner and poet going into Benediction, you're likely already aware that he's famed for his biting work about his time in uniform. There's obviously more to his story and his life, though, as there is to the film that tells his tale. But British writer/director Terence Davies (Sunset Song) never forgets the traumatic ordeal, and the response to it, that frequently follows his subject's name as effortlessly as breathing. Indeed, being unable to ever banish it from one's memory, including Sassoon's own, is a crucial part of this precisely crafted, immensely affecting and deeply resonant movie. If you only know two things about Sassoon before seeing Benediction, you may have also heard of the war hero-turned-conscientious objector's connection to fellow poet Wilfred Owen. Author of Anthem for Damned Youth, he fought in the same fray but didn't make it back. That too earns Davies' attention, with Jack Lowden (Slow Horses) as Sassoon and Matthew Tennyson (Making Noise Quietly) as his fellow wordsmith, soldier and patient at Craiglockhart War Hospital — both for shell shock. Benediction doesn't solely devote its frames to this chapter in its central figure's existence, either, but the film also knows that it couldn't be more pivotal in explaining who Sassoon was, and why, and how war forever changed him. The two writers were friends, and also shared a mutual infatuation. They were particularly inspired during their times at Craiglockhart as well. In fact, Sassoon mentored the younger Owen, and championed his work after he was killed in 1918, exactly one week before before Armistice Day. Perhaps you know three things about Sassoon prior to Benediction. If so, you might be aware of Sassoon's passionate relationships with men, too. Plenty of the film bounces between his affairs with actor and singer Ivor Novello (Jeremy Irvine, Treadstone), socialite Stephen Tennant (Calam Lynch, Bridgerton) and theatre star Glen Byam Shaw (Tom Blyth, Billy the Kid), all at a time in Britain when homosexuality was outlawed. There's a fated air to each romantic coupling in Davies' retelling, whether or not you know to begin with that Sassoon eventually (and unhappily) married the younger Hester Gatty (Kate Phillips, Downton Abbey). His desperate yearning to hold onto someone, and something, echoes with post-war melancholy as well. That said, that sorrow isn't just a product of grappling with a life-changing ordeal, but also of a world where everything Sassoon wants and needs is a battle — even if there's a giddy air to illegal dalliances among London's well-to-do. Benediction caters for viewers who resemble Jon Snow going in, naturally, although Davies doesn't helm any ordinary biopic. No stranger to creating on-screen poetry with his lyrical films — or to biopics about poets, after tackling Emily Dickinson in his last feature A Quiet Passion — the filmmaker steps through Sassoon's tale like he's composing evocative lines himself. Davies has always been a deeply stirring talent; see: his 1988 debut Distant Voices, Still Lives, 2011's romance The Deep Blue Sea and 2016's Sunset Song, for instance. Here, he shows how it's possible to sift through the ins and outs of someone's story, compiling all the essential pieces in the process, yet never merely reducing it down to the utmost basics. Some biopics can resemble Wikipedia entries re-enacted for the screen, even if done so with flair, but Benediction is the polar opposite. Read our full review. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in Australian cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on March 3, March 10, March 17, March 24 and March 31; April 7, April 14, April 21 and April 28; and May 5, May 12, May 19 and May 26; and June 2. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as The Batman, Blind Ambition, Bergman Island, Wash My Soul in the River's Flow, The Souvenir: Part II, Dog, Anonymous Club, X, River, Nowhere Special, RRR, Morbius, The Duke, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Fantastic Beasts and the Secrets of Dumbledore, Ambulance, Memoria, The Lost City, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Happening, The Good Boss, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, The Northman, Ithaka, After Yang, Downton Abbey: A New Era, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, Petite Maman, The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Firestarter, Operation Mincemeat, To Chiara, This Much I Know to Be True, The Innocents, Top Gun: Maverick, The Bob's Burgers Movie, Ablaze, Hatching and Mothering Sunday.
There's still a sprinkling of sunny days left to come before we're entrenched in the depths of winter, and you definitely want to make the most of them. So today, instead of handing over your lunch break to a sad desk sandwich, load up on endorphins and fresh air with a few restorative lunchtime laps at the historic Fitzroy Pool. The 50-metre outdoor pool is a whole lot less crazy at this time of year than in the middle of summer, so you shouldn't have too much of an issue nabbing a lane all to yourself. Plus, at just $6.50 for a casual pass, it's downright affordable. Oh, and did we mention the pool's heated? Fire up those muscles, have a splash beneath that legendary Aqua Profonda sign and head back to work feeling invincible.
During its eight-season run between 2011–19, Game of Thrones served up more drama than several fire-breathing dragons could whip up. It also delivered HBO huge ratings, plenty of advertising dollars and free-flowing acclaim, so the US cable network is understandably keen to keep the franchise going — and it looks like it has three more GoT-related TV shows in the works. We say 'more' because HBO already has three others in various stages of development. Indeed, just which new programs will spin off from the world created by George RR Martin has been a hefty source of drama in itself over the past few years. Before GoT even finished, there was chatter about what would come next, with the network first announcing that it was considering five different prequel ideas. It then green-lit one to pilot stage, scrapped it and later decided to adapt Martin's House Targaryen-focused Fire & Blood for the small screen as a show called House of the Dragon instead. Next, it opted to also give novella series Tales of Dunk and Egg the TV treatment — and to work on an animated GoT show as well. Now, The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that fans might be able to look forward to 9 Voyages, 10,000 Ships and a third show set in Flea Bottom, the King's Landing slum. So, like residents of Westeros hoping that summer (or at least autumn) will last for ever, you don't need to let go of this highly successful fantasy world anytime soon. Hailing from Rome creator Bruno Heller, 9 Voyages plans to focus on Lord Corlys Velaryon, who is also known as The Sea Snake, Lord of the Tides, Master of Driftmark and head of House Velaryon. If he doesn't yet sound familiar, that's because he's set to appear in House of the Dragon, where he'll be played by Steve Toussaint (It's a Sin). As for 10,000 Ships, it'll be about Princess Nymeria, an ancestor of House Martell who started the kingdom of Dorne. If it goes ahead, the show will tell a tale that takes place around 1000 years before the events in GoT. Then there's the the Flea Bottom series, which doesn't yet have even a working title. But, viewers can expect to spend time in the spot where Davos Seaworth and Gendry Baratheon were born. So far, only House of the Dragon — which will star Olivia Cooke (Pixie), Emma D'Arcy (Misbehaviour), Paddy Considine (The Third Day), Rhys Ifans (Official Secrets), Matt Smith (His House), Sonoya Mizuno (Devs) and Eve Best (Nurse Jackie) — is confirmed to be forging ahead. You can probably pencil in 2022 in your diary, if you're wondering when you might be able to see it. As for the other five GoT-related shows, they're just in various stages of development, so it's too early to say when they might pop up or who'll star in them. As the scrapping of the first proposed prequel illustrates — as mentioned above — the fact that HBO is pondering making new Westeros-set programs doesn't mean that they'll end up coming to fruition. At some point, Martin's saga will also live on in his books, whenever the author finally publishes the long-awaited next instalment of his A Song of Ice and Fire series. Until any of the GoT prequels and spinoffs actually drop, you can always rewatch the original — which is streaming in Australia via Binge — or revisit a trailer from its eighth and final season below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuLUyJdRvSU Via The Hollywood Reporter.
When French stage actor Sarah Bernhardt performed in the late-19th and early-20th centuries, posters helped spread the word. The art that featured is as famous as the star herself. Responsible for the designs: Czech-born painter and illustrator Alphonse Mucha, who is virtually synonymous with Paris in the art nouveau period as a result. He's also the subject of the Art Gallery of New South Wales' huge 2024 winter showcase. AGNSW has unveiled its program for the year ahead, and its biggest-name exhibition is impressive. It'll also be exclusive to Sydney. Running from Saturday, June 15–Sunday, September 22, Alphonse Mucha: Spirit of Art Nouveau will be the most-comprehensive showcase of the artist's work that Australia has ever seen, in fact. Posters for Bernhardt and others will feature, alongside illustrations, photographs, jewellery and interior decoration. Surveying Mucha's five-decade career, created in collaboration with the Mucha Foundation in Prague and featuring pieces from the Mucha Family Collection, Alphonse Mucha: Spirit of Art Nouveau will also include a digital component. There, his painting cycle The Slav Epic from 1912–26 will get the immersive treatment. [caption id="attachment_942045" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Alphonse Mucha 'Reverie' 1898, colour lithograph, 72.7 x 55.2 cm © Mucha Trust 2024 // Alphonse Mucha 'The Seasons: Summer' 1896, colour lithograph, 103 x 54 cm © Mucha Trust 2024. // Alphonse Mucha 'Princess Hyacinth' 1911, colour lithograph 125.5 x 83.5 cm © Mucha Trust 2024[/caption] "Thanks to the close and generous collaboration with the Mucha Foundation in Prague, this extensive exhibition brings many of Alphonse Mucha's exceptionally important works to Sydney, revealing an artist and designer whose powerful influence remains with us today, some 85 years after his death," said Art Gallery of New South Wales Director Michael Brand, announcing the exhibition. "Mucha was a prolific and versatile artist whose work spanned many areas of design, from the iconic theatrical posters that made his name, to design and advertising, to jewellery, sculpture and interior design, book illustration and, of course, painting." "As an artist, activist and philosopher, Mucha moved beyond art nouveau in his search for an art to elevate the human spirit, coming to focus attention on the socio-historical issues affecting the Slavic peoples then under the domination of the Austro-Hungarian Empire," Brand continued. [caption id="attachment_942047" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lesley Dumbrell 'Solstice' 1974, Liquitex on canvas, 173 x 296 cm, Art Gallery of New South Wales, purchased with funds provided by the Patrick White Bequest 2019 © Lesley Dumbrell.[/caption] Alphonse Mucha: Spirit of Art Nouveau sits on AGNSW's 2024 lineup alongside a wealth of other reasons to hit the Sydney gallery. The Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes will be back, of course, displaying across winter as well. The Volume festival, which debuted in 2023, will also return — albeit with dates and details to be confirmed. And the site is a venue for the 24th Biennale of Sydney from March–June, too. The abstract art of Australian talent Lesley Dumbrell, paintings and sculptures by South Korea's Lee Ufan and stepping into Wendy Sharpe's creative process are among the other highlights, from a list that goes on. One particular must-see: What Does the Jukebox Dream Of?, where the gallery will go big on defunct media — complete with Susan Hiller's large-scale installation Die gedanken sind frei (Thoughts are free), a customised Wurlitzer jukebox, which will hit Australia for the first time and play 100-plus anthems spanning centuries. [caption id="attachment_942046" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Susan Hiller 'Die gedanken sind frei (Thoughts are free)' 2012, 102 songs on customised Wurlitzer walnut jukebox, vinyl lettering, books, benches, sound, overall display dimensions variable, Art Gallery of New South Wales, gift of Geoff Ainsworth AM and Johanna Featherstone 2017 © Estate of Susan Hiller, courtesy Lisson Gallery, photo: Jack Hems.[/caption] Art Gallery of New South Wales' 2024 Exhibitions and Events: Until Sunday, March 10 — Kandinsky and Georgiana Houghton: Invisible Friends Until Sunday, April 28 — Louise Bourgeois: Has the Day Invaded the Night or Has the Night Invaded the Day? Until Sunday, April 21 — ARTEXPRESS 2024 Saturday, March 9–Monday, June 10 — 24th Biennale of Sydney: Ten Thousand Suns Saturday, March 9–Sunday, September 22 — What Does the Jukebox Dream Of? Saturday, March 9–Sunday, June 2 — Jelena Telecki: Mothers, Fathers Saturday, May 25–Sunday, August 11 — Wendy Sharpe: Spellbound Saturday, June 8–Sunday, September 8 — Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes 2024 Saturday, June 15–Sunday, September 22 — Alphonse Mucha: Spirit of Art Nouveau Saturday, June 22–Monday, October 7 — Emily Hunt Saturday, July 30–Sunday, October 24 — Lesley Dumbrell: Thrum Saturday, August 31–September 2024 — Lee Ufan Saturday, September 14–Sunday, January 12 — Dobell Australian Drawing Biennial 2024 Saturday, September 21–mid 2025 — Angelica Mesiti: The Rites of When Saturday, November 2–Sunday, February 16 — Leyla Stevens Saturday, November 9–Sunday, February 9 — Nusra Latif Qureshi TBC — Volume 2024 [caption id="attachment_942048" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sampa the Great performing at the 2023 Volume Festival at the Art Gallery of NSW, photo © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Daniel Boud.[/caption] For more information about the Art Gallery of New South Wales' 2024 exhibitions — all of which will occur at The Domain, Sydney — visit the venue's website. Top image: excerpt of Alphonse Mucha 'Reverie' 1898, colour lithograph, 72.7 x 55.2 cm © Mucha Trust 2024 // Alphonse Mucha 'The Seasons: Summer' 1896, colour lithograph, 103 x 54 cm © Mucha Trust 2024. // Alphonse Mucha 'Princess Hyacinth' 1911, colour lithograph 125.5 x 83.5 cm © Mucha Trust 2024
Attenzione! Fitzroy's beloved Italian sandwich bar Rocco's Bologna Discoteca has opened a new upstairs bar. Vince's Bar, named after the father of one of the owners, is a more relaxed and intimate space than downstairs, and boasts a focus on cocktails and snacks. Open since early September, the bar operates from 6pm till late every Friday and Saturday, and has a varied drinks menu featuring a selection of wines and cocktails. The cocktail menu features a mix of classic and modern, heroing Italian ingredients. Some of the highlights include the pandan negroni, made with gin, vermouth and pandan syrup; Vince's martini, which whips together vodka, grapefruit bitters and chamomile oil; and the Spaghetti Western No. 2, which uses mezcal, mango, rose vermouth, bitters and prosecco. The snack menu is also Italian-inspired, with small plates like oysters, mortadella mousse tartlets, and crescetina with Cantabrian anchovies and goat ricotta. As the weather only continues to get nicer (grazie Dio), Vince's Bar, with its cute patio, has timed its opening perfectly. Walk-ins are welcome, so if you find yourself strolling down Gertrude Street on a balmy Friday or Saturday evening, pop in and say ciao. Find Vince's Bar above Rocco's Bologna Discoteca at 15 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy — open from 6pm–late every Friday and Saturday.
Despite some Australian weather maps saying the contrary this week, summer is officially on our doorstep. And what better way to celebrate than with a brand new range of creamy, ice cold treats from the legends at Gelato Messina? The famed gelateria's chefs have been hard at work over the past three months, creating an all-new line of its beloved cakes, all of which are set to hit stores across the country this week. The Dr. Evil's Magic Mushroom cake, with its recognisable polka dot shell, will be the only creation to carry over from the previous range, which has been winning fans and sweetening up group celebrations since way back in 2012. This is also the first time Messina's done a near complete overhaul of its cake offering all at once. In keeping with the usual Messina vibe, the newcomers are as whimsical as they are expertly crafted, and almost too good looking to destroy. Five follow the style of the classic gelato cake, while three "trans cakes" are designed to be enjoyed either from the fridge or straight from the freezer. In the lineup, you'll find intricate delights like The Golden 8 — featuring a Ferrero Rocher-inspired ball of hazelnut gelato, mousse and fudge, encased in a smooth chocolate orb — as well as more classic designs, like the coffee-infused Tiramisu Tart. There's also a big focus on using great local produce, too. The vibrant Strawberries & Cream cake features fruit from Messina's own strawberry farm in Dural, NSW, while the cow-like How Now teams house-made dulce de leche with jersey milk-soaked sponge and vanilla cream. As with the rest of the products, each cake's infused with creamy jersey milk from Messina's own Victorian dairy farm. Keep them in mind if you find yourself in charge of desserts for any impending festive celebrations. The nine new Gelato Messina cakes start at $58 and are available online or in-store from next week.
This spring, Yo-Chi stores across Australia are transforming into a Fun House, filled with games, surprises, activities, and prizes to be won. Taking place from Friday, September 19, through to Sunday, October 12, the Fun House is targeted towards kids and teens on school holidays. At the centre of the festivities is the launch of Yo-Chi's new Bestie Testie card game. Packed with questions from your last Google search to your most regrettable social post, it's designed to spark conversation between Yo-Chi enjoyers. You can play in-store or take a pack home for $12. Each venue will also have its own Chi-E-O, who is responsible for running a rotating lineup of activities, including colouring in and Chi Pong. Then, at random points during the day, a secret song will play across every venue nationally, signalling the ultimate froyo treat: Yo-Chi on the house for whoever's inside at that moment. Yo-Chi is also rolling out a limited-edition strawberry and mango swirl, alongside new toppings like rainbow mochi, sour clouds, wafer discs and choc cone bits. So make sure to try the new flavour and toppings while you explore all that the Yo-Chi Fun House has to offer. The Yo-Chi Fun House runs nationwide from September 19 to October 12. Find out more via the Yo-Chi website.
The Standard Store on Gertrude Street is anything but standard. From eccentric pins made by graphic designer Georgia Perry to uber-trendy tops from Commune de Paris and bright, geometric dresses by Henrik Vibskov, owners Orlando and Nicola Reindorf know how to create a store filled with the kind of items that make you feel unique. There's no fast fashion to be found. Instead, the pair make bi-annual overseas trips to ensure that anything they source from over the pond is of the same quality as the homegrown brands they consistently back. Image: Caitlin Morahan.
It's the little things that count at Eydie's — like the 1950s water jugs and glasses that make you feel classy, and the repurposed vinyl presses, salvaged from Brunswick-based Zenith Records and now serving as drink coasters — that give you them jazzy, ethical feels. Eydie's is a favourite among hospitality workers for its late-night happy hour (we're talking $12 negronis, 9–11pm), and its secluded garden courtyard that works seasonally, thanks to gas heaters and part roofing. In terms of food, ask for the local list. Eateries nearby deliver most of your cravings, and Lygon Street has plenty.
Come 2021, you'll have one very convincing reason to book a trip to Sydney (or a Sydney staycation) — the city will be home to the first very Australian outpost of trendy US chain Ace Hotel. Founded in 1999, the boutique chain currently has its signature luxe-vintage hotels in Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Pittsburgh, Portland and Seattle. Its first international location opened in London in 2013, and its next is slated to open in Kyoto in spring next year. Known for their great bars, pools, cool branding and merch, and quirky locations — such as a converted Denny's and a historic YMCA building — each Ace Hotel is individually designed to reflect its surroundings. The Ace Hotel in Downtown LA is in a 13-storey 1920s former movie theatre, and has art deco furnishings, a rooftop pool and three bars, while the Palm Springs outpost is swathed in white, and has swim club and an attached diner. For the local outpost, Ace's in-house design team — Atelier Ace — will be working alongside an Australian firm to design the hyper-local hotel. While exactly what that will look like both inside and out is still under wraps, it'll take inspiration from the food, art, architecture, design and culture of Surry Hills when it opens in an 18-storey building (formerly Tyne House) on Wentworth Avenue. [caption id="attachment_745633" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Render of Ace Hotel's proposed Surry Hills facade.[/caption] The Ace Hotel site was purchased two years ago by Australian property development group, Golden Age Group, who will also have a hand in the hotel. As well as 264 rooms, guests can look forward to a ground-floor lobby bar, a gym, restaurant, cafe, and rooftop bar and eatery. We'll keep our fingers crossed for a potential rooftop pool, too. It's just the latest boutique hotel to open in Surry Hills, which has seen the hyper-local Paramount House Hotel — complete with rooftop wellness centre — launch in March last year, and the 35-room Little Albion House (which you can book through Airbnb) follow in July. Real estate developer Cienna Group also has plans in the works to open a 12-storey laneway hotel on the corner of Riley and Campbell Streets. The Ace Hotel Sydney is slated to open at 49–53 Wentworth Avenue, Sydney in 2021. We'll update you with a specific launch date when one is announced. Top images: Ace Hotel London / Ace Hotel Downtown LA.
Brook Andrew has spent much of his extensive career exploring the dominant narratives and histories around colonialism through large-scale gallery interventions and immersive installations. One such major installation is The Cell, a work that was first shown at Sydney's Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation and is now temporarily installed at The Substation in Newport. It invites audiences to take part in a jumping castle experiment, which muddies the distinction between 'sanctuary and detention'. Adorned with traditional Wiradjuri patterns, the inflatable space creates a stimulating juxtaposition with its light-hearted format meeting a sense of anxiety as Andrew conjures the illusion of shrinking and constricting whilst inside. Over a long and successful career, Andrew's interdisciplinary talents have seen him exhibiting internationally since 1996, where he often works closely with diverse communities along with public and private collections. The Cell is on display now for a short time only, closing Saturday June 10.
Daylesford is a haven of spa retreats, friendly pubs, roaring fireplaces and mountainous beauty. Nestled into the foothills of the Great Dividing Range and just a stone's throw from the healing powers of Hepburn Springs, it's lovely at anytime of year, but winter brings a special kind of magic. Rather than feeling like you should be out, relentlessly doing, you can shamelessly surrender to warm, cosy, heartening indulgences — from soaking in hot tubs filled with nutrient-rich mineral water to sipping craft ales by a roaring fire. Here's your guide to winter decadence in Daylesford and its neighbouring towns. Winter slips by quicker than you think, so make plans soon. WHERE BREAKFAST MEETS DESSERT The French sure know how to do a winter's breakfast: with hot chocolate. Follow their lead at the Chocolate Mill, a strawbale marvel 7km north of Daylesford that produces handmade chocolates. Peer into the open kitchen to witness the creators in action before claiming a table at the Hot Chocolate Cafe. Next stop, real breakfast. You'll get it with a stone fireplace at Moto Bean Coffee Roasters in Malmsbury, about 30 kilometres' north-east of Daylesford. Formerly a farmer's barn, this epic, industrial-inspired cafe is dotted with classic motorbikes and dedicated to roasting coffee beans. Tuck into an apple hotcake with whipped honey mascarpone, walnut crumbs and baby herbs. FUEL UP BY THE FIRE Come lunchtime, head to the Farmers Arms, where you can hide away in a booth or soak up some rays in the beer garden, accompanied by your dog. The menu is all about fancied-up pub classics, such as roasted pork belly with mash, broccolini, Harcourt apple cider jelly and red wine jus. Another spot where it's easy to while away a winter's afternoon is the Cosmopolitan in Trentham. This gorgeous 1866 pub, encircled by weatherboard verandahs, was rebuilt in 2009 following a 2005 fire. The extensive craft beer and local wine lists will keep you sampling for hours, plus, on Sundays, there's live music. Eats are gastropub-style — think smoked duck breast with grilled witlof, beans, kipflers, hazelnuts, sherry vinegar and maple dressing. If you want to treat yourself, then swing over to Kyneton – about 30km north-west – for dinner. At Source Dining, owner-chef Tim Foster serves up hatted creations, accompanied by a wine list that holds two Australian Wine List of the Year Glasses. Try the local beef tartare, with pickled farm beetroot, beetroot mayonnaise, cured yolk, fresh horseradish, salt and vinegar kale, and potato chips. Most produce comes straight from the kitchen garden. Alternatively, there are excellent woodfired pizzas at Olive Jones in Macedon. SOAK AND SINK INTO SPAS Every visit to Daylesford should involve a long, long soak in Hepburn Springs' warm, nutrient-rich mineral waters. Victorians have been onto this since 1895, when Hepburn Bathhouse and Spa was built. The complex, which scored a $13-million revamp in 2008, hosts two social pools, as well as private tubs for those keen to rejuvenate in peace. Once you've bathed, try drinking the waters: various springs are dotted around Hepburn Mineral Springs Reserve. Alternatively, at Salus Day Spa at Lake House Hotel, sink into a deep tub in a treehouse, surrounded by blonde timber and lush greenery. Also in Hepburn Springs is Shizuka Ryokan, a Japanese wellness retreat, inspired by ryokans: ancient inns where samurai warriors would go to rest and reflect. Don a kimono and wander around the minimalist grounds before settling in for a spa treatment – be it a Geisha facial based on 1200-year-old techniques or a shiatsu massage. FINE INDOOR PURSUITS Now that you're thoroughly relaxed, it's time to get arty at the Convent Gallery, a mansion turned convent turned gallery. Or get your hands dirty with a sourdough-making workshop at RedBeard Historic Bakery, Trentham, where the results will be baked in a massive 19th-century oven. If that sounds like too much thinking, get even more relaxed with a wine tasting session at Passing Clouds' stunning cellar door in Musk, just five minutes' drive from town, before continuing to Daylesford Cider Company for mulled ciders, made with organic apples, by the fire. THE COSIEST SLEEP SPOTS One of the hands-down best things about winter is snuggling in bed, ensconced in doonas, woollen blankets and piles of pillows. Add a roaring fire, and there's no going anywhere. Luckily, Daylesford and its surrounds are packed with dreamy retreats. At the luxe end of the scale is Clifftop At Hepburn, where private villas come with spectacular views, spas, stone hot tubs, massage chairs and fireplaces. Another collection of beautiful villas surrounded by bushland is Kudos. These architect-designed wonders offer fireplaces and spa areas that open onto private decks. To step back in time, sleep over at Peppers Mineral Springs Hotel, built in 1935. There's a day spa onsite, with mineral water baths, heated to 37 degrees Celsius, stunning Italian gardens and Stuart Rattle-designed lounges, splashed with marble, leather and polished wood. Rooms vary from cosy classics to a four-bedroom villa built in 1864. For a stay in downtown Daylesford, book at Frangos. Think high ceilings, spa baths and quirky touches, such as hand-embroidered pillows, mirror walls and velvet bed heads. There's also an in-house Endota Spa. To explore more winter indulgences in the Daylesford region and get booking, visit the Wander Victoria website. Top image: Peppers Mineral Springs Hotel.
